The Rise of Emrys
by j3swimmer
Summary: Set between seasons 3 and 4. Morgana and Morgause team up with Mordred and learn some unpleasant secrets that lead to the downfall of Camelot. After taking over and turning Arthur to stone, the force Merlin to work as their slave, taking away his name and his freedom. Merthur fic with heavy angst and whump.
1. Prologue

**AN: Hello! I'm back! With my long story! WOOOOT! **

**Anyhoo, lots of stuff to say in this an, so I better get started. **

**Sorry if the summary for this was awkward, I'm having a really hard time explaining what is happening without giving stuff away.**

**Helen is editing again! YAY! And thanks!**

**Umm, about this prologue, it technically takes place in the middle-ish of the story. So there will be a lot of going back and explaining how this situation came to be. If you are confused, your questions will probably be answered. **

**WARNINGS! Angst, Merthur (Although it will be in disguise for the first couple of chapters, don't worry though. Arthur could never love anyone but Merlin), some torture, and possibly a death. I'm hoping not, but it might have to happen. Sorry.**

**I don't own Merlin. Well, maybe in my dreams...**

**Thanks for reading, and enjoy! I will try to get the first chapter written soon, it shouldn't take too long (it will probably be a little short, sorry)**

**One last note, this fic will probably have about 12 more chapters, but at this point I am still a little unsure about how the ending will go, so I'm not exactly sure.**

**Alons-y!**

Prologue

When Oswald entered Camelot for the first time, his jaw dropped. He had been preparing to travel to the city ever since the ban on magic had been lifted by the new queen. It was so beautiful, although it was said that it had been even lovelier while the tyrant king had ruled, but his fear had prevented him from getting a chance to see the city in its prime. Oswald's powers were weak, but their existence would have been enough to lead him to his doom back in the time of Uther if the rumors were true. Now that Morgana had taken over, magic was praised and he was finally able to enter the kingdom without fear.

As Oswald walked towards the castle, he was amazed by the number of peasants reaching out for his help. He had little to give, so he had to turn them away. The only well-dressed people kept their eyes down and scurried through the streets, trying to ignore the poor at the edges of their vision. Oswald knew taxes had been higher since the rule shifted, that had been one of the reasons he left his home. He had been in correspondence with the court physician, Gaius, and had been given a position as his assistant. This way he could send some of his earnings back to his family and they would have one less mouth to feed. He had never expected this level of poverty, though. He had expected everyone in Camelot to be wealthy; the city was supposed to be the greatest in the kingdom.

As he neared the castle, Oswald noticed the number of poor decreasing and the number of guards increasing dramatically. The guards were large, and all of them wore the same black outfits. Every once and a while one of the guards would kick a peasant for reaching for them, or tripping them, or who knows what. This seemed unlikely, as all the peasants retreated when they noticed the men dressed in the black uniforms.

With the help of one of the guards, Oswald found the physician's quarters. Unfortunately, getting in was going to be more difficult than he expected. Two more guards stood outside the door, and barred his entrance.

"Excuse m-m-me" Oswald stuttered, "I've b-b-been talking to G-gaius, I'm t-t-to be his n-n-new assis-assistant. C-could you l-l-let me in?"

"Really?" One of the guards sneered, "You don't look like a physician."

"I h-h-have a l-l-letter." Oswald choked out, handing a folded piece of paper up to the guard, who handed it to his partner. After reading the letter and checking the seal, the guard nodded, and opened the door for the nervous boy.

Oswald scurried into the cluttered chambers, eager to get away from the guards outside the door. As the door was slammed closed behind him, Oswald caught his first glance of the man he would be studying under. He looked very weary as he peered up at the boy who had just been allowed into his room.

"Gaius? I'm Oswald. I sent you letters about b-being your new assistant?"

"Yes, of course. Welcome to Camelot." The old man replied.

"Thank you, sir."

"Please, call me Gaius. Your room is through that door. Your duties will include gathering herbs and taking some of my potions out to the people who can't make it to visit me. I might also ask you to assist me with other small tasks from time to time. Is that acceptable?"

"Of course s- Gaius."

"Alright, well, I'll let you get settled in for now, and I will call-"

Before Gaius could finish the doors to the chamber banged open, allowing two guards dragging a dark-haired boy into the room. The boy's back was littered with dripping wounds that appeared to have been caused by a whip. After tossing him to the floor one of the guards said "The Queen wants him ready for work by breakfast tomorrow."

The two guards departed, leaving the beaten boy to bleed on the floor of the physician's chambers. Once the door was closed, Gaius moved to the boy's side at a speed Oswald had thought impossible for a man his age. Oswald couldn't help but notice the anger in Gaius' eyes. He had been distracted by the guards, so he hadn't noticed how Gaius had gone quite pale when the boy was towed inside, and had missed the flashes of emotion that crossed behind his eyes as he tried to remain stoic in front of the guards.

"Oswald, help me get him onto the bed." Gaius called, one hand caressing the top of the boy's head. When Oswald moved over to help Gaius haul the boy up onto the small cot he couldn't help but notice the collar that was secured around the boy's neck. He wondered who this was and what had resulted in such harsh treatment. Gaius seemed to be wondering the same thing as he began to treat the boy's wounds and asked "What did you do this time, Merlin?"

The boy, who had remained silent up to this point, let out a sigh and said, "You know you're not supposed to call me that, Gaius. I don't want you to get into trouble."

"Your mother named you Merlin, so that is what I will call you. I don't care what Morgana has decreed, you will always be Merlin to me. Now, you still haven't told me. What happened to cause them to do this to you?"

"You think they need a reason to beat me? They just like showing their dominance over the 'mighty Emrys.' I think it was Mordred's idea though, so that makes it a little different."

"Merlin, you need to get out of here. Don't worry about us, if you stay much longer there won't be much of you to rescue." Gaius said, and Oswald couldn't help to notice that there were tears on his face. Whoever this "Merlin" was, Oswald figured he must be pretty important to the Gaius.

"I can't leave, Gaius. I won't let them hurt you, or Guinevere, or the knights. And I can't leave Arthur, no matter what state he is in. Plus, even if I do try to leave this thing will start to choke me," Merlin hissed, indicating the collar "I will be fine. Don't worry about me. But, Gaius, who is this? You haven't introduced me, are you forgetting your manners in your old age?"

"Merlin" was smiling at him. Oswald found this pretty impressive with the state of his back. Gaius gave him a light nock to the head, which he responded to with a fake display of pain before the grin returned to his face.

"Oswald," Gaius said, addressing him, "this is Merlin. Merlin, this is my new assistant, Oswald."

"Pleased to meet you." Merlin said, holding out a hand awkwardly from his current position on the cot. "But you should call me Emrys. The Queen doesn't like it when people use the M word. Take care of Gaius for me."

Oswald took the proffered hand, still quite astounded by the strange boy, and replied, "I will try."

Merlin, or Emrys, or whoever he was, smiled and nodded before turning back to Gaius. "Can I try to heal myself? If they want me back up by tomorrow, they shouldn't mind if I heal the wounds, right?"

Gaius nodded, before replying, "Do you need the book?"

"Nah, I think I've got a handle on this spell by now." Merlin said before he started chanting. His eyes glowed gold as the wounds on his back began to slowly heal over, leaving only a series of red scabs that could have been days old.

Just as he finished chanting the door was opened, and the two guards stormed back into the room. One of them grabbed Merlin off the cot, as the other explained "Emrys is to return to his room"

While he was being guided out of the room, Merlin turned back to say, "Thank you, Gaius, and nice to meet you Oswald!" As he turned back away from the physician, Oswald was able to see through his façade of cheerfulness, but only for just a second. It seemed he must have been trying to hide his suffering from Gaius. When the door was closed and Oswald heard the sound of a lock clicking, he turned back to the physician, hoping to get a better explanation to what he had just seen.

Gaius was slumped in a chair near the fire, his head in his hands. Oswald coughed softly before asking, "I'm sorry to bother you, but what was that all about? Why would the queen want to do that to Merlin?"

Gaius sighed as he replied "You might want to sit down, Oswald, this is going to be quite a long story."


	2. Chapter 1: Bitter Reunions

**AN: Hello! I'm sorry this took so long, the next one will definitely be sooner. **

**I place part of the blame on Eoin Macken, who distracted me by SENDING ME AN EMAIL! Well, I might have emailed him first, but still. He called me darling. He is probably the sweetest person in the world. And he has some lovely hair. But I am not just focused on the physical awesomeness, I swear...**

**Anyways, new chapter. See, he's distracting me again! **

**Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted. I love you! maybe not quite as much as Eoin Macken, but you're a close second.**

**AHHH! He's back! Invading my brain! **

**There is a better summary of this story on my profile page, if you were curious. But if you like surprises, don't look! Hehehe. If you read The Heart of the Prince, it is the same summary, sorry.**

**I feel like I wanted to say things in this note but I can't remember what they were. The next chapter will be up soon, I promise. **

**Once again, Merlin is not mine. And neither is Gwaine. Now that I Eoin Macken knows I exist I feel bad objectifying him or any character he plays. He is a wonderful person and should be seen as such.**

**Oh! I forgot! If you get what the title of this chapter is reference to I will love you forever! I am such a child inside. But seriously, "crazed up fruit-loop is probably the best insult ever.**

Chapter 1: Bitter Reunions

Morgana only saw Morgause.

Her broken form lay in the middle of the room.

Morgana rushed to her side. She could not be dead. Morgause was her only remaining family member who would not want to kill her simply for who she was. She cradled Morgause's head in her lap, stroking the golden hair, praying that she was not gone. It was not until Merlin said "It's over, Morgana," that she even realized there was anyone else in the room.

"No. You're wrong," she hissed back, tears trailing down her check, "This has only just begun."

With that she let all her emotions stream out of her, as she screeched at the kingdom that seemed determined to take everything from her. She felt he anger, her hatred, and her sorrow tear the wall down around her. She continued to scream until the only emotion left was desperation. She needed help. She hugged Morgause to her wished they were somewhere safe.

Morgana felt her powers overwhelm her. They seemed to instruct her, in a vain attempt at self preservation, telling her what words to say. As she spoke she felt the world around her fade, the only solid thing was her sister's limp body that she clung to as her magic carried her out of the castle.

When she felt ground beneath her once more, it was obvious she was no longer in the castle. Somehow she had gotten them to some forest. With the last of her strength, Morgana called out for help, praying that her powers had led her somewhere safe. Just as she began to lose consciousness, exhausted from this new way of using magic, she noticed a group of people wearing cloaks approaching her. The smallest figure ran towards her calling her name just as she collapsed over her sister.

When Morgana awoke she was no longer lying on the forest floor, but on some type of blanket. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that she was in some type of tent. And she was alone. Panic filled her as she realized she didn't know where her sister was. She murmured her sister's name before she began to cry out her name as loudly as her abused throat would allow. After about three cries someone entered the tent. Her first thought was that it was not Morgause. When a small hand grabbed her arm, and she heard a familiar voice in her mind, she finally stopped yelling.

"Mordred?" She asked to the small figure.

The druid boy looked up her with a smile. She hugged the boy, saying "Mordred! Where is Morgause? How did I get here? Is she alright? Please tell me she is alright."

Mordred looked much older than he did the last time she had seen him, even though he was still not nearly fully grown. He was filling out nicely, though, and Morgana wondered if he would one day grow to be the same size as Arthur's knights. It was hard to imagine the young boy as anything else. He kept a comforting hand on her arm as he replied "Morgause is healing, don't worry. She should make a full recovery with the help of the healers here. We still aren't exactly sure how you managed to get her here, it must have taken some really powerful magic. You are so strong Morgana!"

His eyes blazed as he watched her. She had never really understood her powers, but to get such admiration from a druid who also seemed to have great powers startled her slightly.

"Could I see her?"

"I think so, she still needs a lot of rest, but she has been awake more and more. I'll just go get Urias, he will take you to her."

Morgana was left alone as Mordred ran to get Urias, whoever that was. When the tent flap was opened again, Mordred entered, leading a large man with dark hair. There was a scar crossing over one of his deep green eyes, and his chin was slightly scruffy. Well, in his defense, it was probably difficult to keep clean-shaven out in the woods. He smiled."Hello, Morgana," he said, "Mordred here told me you were awake. Welcome to our camp. I am Urias, leader of this group."

Morgana was not in the mood for chatting. "I want to see my sister" she said in her most demanding voice possible. Urias chuckled as he responded, "Of course. Your will is strong, young sorceress. Come with me."

Urias helped her to her feet and guided her out of the tent. Morgana was surprised at how shaky she still felt, but she tried to hide it. Mordred stayed at her other side, holding her arm and trying to give his support in any way possible. Morgana got a brief glance of the small camp before she was led into another tent. As soon as she entered she saw the golden locks that she knew must belong to Morgause.

"Sister!" Morgana shouted before rushing to her side. Morgause was lying on a bed of furs, her face was scarred from where it had slammed against the wall. At the sound of Morgana's voice, her eyes opened.

"Morgana!" Morgause said, her voice weak, but still as commanding as ever, "You got us out of there. I am so proud of you."

"But we lost the kingdom! How did they beat us! We had an immortal army! It should have been impossible."

"If it wasn't for that meddlesome manservant knocking over the cup of life, we would have been unbeatable. Don't worry sister, they will not be so lucky next time. He had a strange sword as well. It was able to kill our soldiers. Have you heard anything of such a weapon?"

"Nothing. Merlin will pay for what he has done for us. I promise I will make him suffer for harming you."

Mordred spoke up from behind Morgana. "You must be careful when dealing with Emrys. He is strong, and should not be underestimated just because he is young," he said. Morgana was confused. Who was he talking about?

"What do you mean, Mordred? Who is Emrys?" Morgana said, keeping one hand on Morgause's shoulder as she turned to the young boy.

"You call him Merlin. And although he hides his powers, he is strong. The druids have written about him. He will grow to be the most powerful warlock in all of Albion. And yet he chooses to abandon his own kind and serve the Pendragons," Mordred said with a growl. Morgana was amazed to see such hate in the young boy, but there was no way he could be right. Merlin, magic? That was impossible.

"I'm sorry Mordred, but I think you must have Merlin confused with someone else. There is no way that idiot has magic." Morgana said, trying to keep from laughing at the ludicrous idea.

"Wait, sister," Morgause murmured, "think about it. It would explain so much. Like how he escaped my chains back when we tried to drive Uther mad with the mandrake."

"Or how he has managed to thwart every one of our plans so far without getting so much as a scratch," Morgana said, fury washing over her with the realization. "How could he! I trusted him with my secret, but he could not trust me with his." He had been her friend, and all this time he had magic as well.

"Emrys will pay for all he has done," Mordred said, "but we will need to be careful about how we do it, he is strong."

Urias, who had remained silent up to this point, joined in, saying, "Morgana, the people here have all suffered under the Pendragons. Many are druids who have lost faith in the future that Emrys was supposed to bring. We will help you overthrow the tyranny of the Pendragons and bring magic back to the land in whatever way possible. Just know, as you plan your attack, you will not be alone."

Morgana smirked as she heard this. She knew why she had lost her kingdom now, and she would be prepared next time. Merlin was going to suffer for all he did to her, she was sure of that.

"Well, we have a kingdom to usurp and a warlock to subdue, we better get planning, right sister?" Morgause asked.

"Of course, sister, and I think I know just how to do it." Morgana replied, her eyes glistening with malice and a smirk on her face as she told the occupants of the tent of her plan to finally get all that she deserved.


	3. Chapter 2: Feelings are Confusing

**AN: Hello! Happy sunday! **

**I said this chapter wouldn't take too long! **

**Sorry about the lack of excitement. I promise, chapter three, things will start to heat up. I just had to get through a couple more set up detail things.**

**I am so eloquent. Sorry.**

**Anyhoo, this chapter may appear to be slightly Arthur/Gwen. I promise you, this is just to get the story started. This is still a Merthur fic. I just need people to think Arthur and Gwen are in love. Sorry.**

**And I went for a strange title. Because I felt like it. And it made me laugh. Thank you for reading, reviewing, alerting, favoriting, or whatever else you decided to do. You are all wonderful!**

**I still don't own Merlin. Being a crazy nineteen year old, this probably is not a surprise to anyone.**

Chapter 2: Feelings are Confusing

Camelot was changing.

Eight months had passed since they drove Morgana out of the castle, and there was still no sign of the ex-ward or her sister.

Arthur had stepped up as prince regent, removing many of his father's duties. Uther was still unwell, lost in his mind, still unable to except Morgana's betrayal. With his father sequestered in his chambers almost all of the time, Arthur had been able to make the changes he had always hoped to. He allowed non-nobles to join the knights, starting with a more official ceremony for Lancelot, Percival, Elyan, and Gwaine, but also accepted new recruits from other villages to train with the growing army. Using this new source of manpower, the damage Morgana had done in her escape was repaired quickly, and the city was recovering.

Arthur was leading the kingdom into a new age. He truly cared about his people and spent all his time and energy making sure they were safe. Everyone was happy.

Well, mostly everyone.

Merlin hated himself for being unhappy. But, ever since Uther had retreated to his chambers, Arthur and Gwen had been able to be much more open about their relationship, and it hurt. He wanted to be happy for them, he really did, but he just couldn't. He loved Arthur so much more than Arthur would ever love him. Merlin had started to think that maybe, just maybe, Arthur might return his feelings. But, now it was clear he was smitten with Gwen. He was constantly asking her for time alone to "seek her council" or whatever other excuse he could come up with. Merlin ended up spending a lot of time with Lancelot, who seemed to be just as miserable as he was. Some days they would ride out into the forest till they knew they were alone and Merlin would blow things up with his mind while Lancelot destroyed the nearest trees and shrubs. If Arthur noticed Merlin's rotten mood, he said nothing about it. Their interactions remained pretty much the same, except now that Arthur had more duties, Merlin was even busier. Arthur wanted to spend more time training the new recruits, but that seemed impossible with the constant appearances and speeches he had to make, so Merlin often ended up writing speeches and polishing armor late into the night.

The one thing that made Merlin quite happy was that ever since Arthur had taken over, not one person had been accused of sorcery. Apparently all the evil sorcerers who usually attacked Camelot approximately once a week had taken a break. It seemed like they were allowing Arthur to have some time to get used to being in charge before they would storm back in to try to destroy the Pendragon rule or whatever other revenge they could think up. So, the time Merlin usually spent saving Arthur, was now his time to do what he wished with. This quite often meant sleep, but Gwaine had managed to drag him down to the tavern a couple of times. Merlin had mostly watched as Gwaine drank himself into a stupor, laughing as the knight made more and more "friends" with his drunken antics.

As time went on, things just got worse and worse for Merlin. The first time he walked into Arthur's chambers to find Gwen already there, he had had to retreat to Lancelot's room, knowing that only the knight could understand the pain he felt. Sometimes Merlin wished he could hate Gwen, but she was still his best friend and he would do anything for her to be happy. Lancelot had hugged him when he had rushed into the knight's quarters looking utterly depressed.

"Do you need to get out of here?" the knight had asked, still clutching Merlin to him.

"No, but thanks Lancelot. It's just so hard to watch them together."

"I know Merlin."

They stayed together until Merlin had been able to pull himself together and return to his duties, allowing Lancelot to make his way down to the training field. Merlin pitied whoever was teamed up with Lancelot that day, as he would need to take his frustration out on something.

The next time it happened, Merlin had been on his way back to Lancelot's room when he ran into Gwaine. He had tried to apologize and continue on his way but the knight had not allowed this.

"Merlin" Gwaine had sighed, holding onto Merlin's arm to make sure he could not escape him, "when are you planning on telling me what's wrong?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong." Merlin said, trying to keep his voice from betraying his true emotions

"Merlin, I know you better than that. I can tell when something's up. Do you need me to go yell at the princess? Tell him to give you the rest of the day off?"

Merlin chuckled at that offer. Gwaine may have sworn his loyalty to Camelot, but he still treated Arthur the same as he always had. It seemed the new knight had no understanding of fealty. "That's alright, but thanks for the offer. I just need to go polish his armor."

Merlin tried to pull away again, but Gwaine quickly stopped him, the grip on his arm tightening. "Now, I saw you polishing that armor last night, and I know Arthur was not at practice this morning, so that's not going to work. Please, Merlin, I just want to help. You were my first friend. I can't stand seeing you like this."

Merlin shifted uneasily before glancing back at his friend. He knew he could trust Gwaine, but it was still strange talking to someone else about his feelings.

"Have you ever been in love with someone who loves someone else?"

"Ah, I'm guessing this has something to do with the princess and the lovely Guinevere."

Merlin just nodded, keeping his gaze fixed on his feet.

"I'm sorry, mate. That's rough. If you ever need anything you know I am here for you, right? I know a lovely tavern in which we can get smashingly drunk until you won't even remember your own name."

"I might have to take you up on that offer sometime. But I should really go. I still have a lot of chores to do before I can even think about ale."

"Just one word to me, and I can make sure Arthur's so tired from training he won't be able to order you to fold his socks or whatever other ridiculous things he has you do."

"Good luck with that, Gwaine." Merlin said as he turned to walk back towards Arthur's chambers.

"Wait, Merlin, don't give up hope. I know that things look bad, but I've seen the way he looks at you, and the way Guinevere looks at Lancelot. We are still young, feelings can change, sometimes it just takes a while for people to see what's right in front of their eyes."

Merlin stiffened when Gwaine spoken. It was so much easier to give up hope then to keep holding on to the glances and lingering hands that seemed to say so much but in the end meant nothing.

"Thanks, but there's nothing to hope for. It was never destined to be." Merlin said in a monotone before returning to the prince's chambers. He almost wished Kilgarrah was still around to reassure him that he was doing the right thing.

* * *

A few days later, a messenger rushed into Camelot. The boy seemed to have run miles to get his message to the court, and he was still panting when he was escorted into the throne room where Arthur was waiting, Merlin stationed behind him as always. After the boy was given some water and enough time to catch his breath, he said, "Your highness, the city of Ealdor has been struck by a plague. We need help, medical supplies, and we don't know who to go to. Cenred's kingdom has fallen, King Cenred died at the hands of Morgause. His body was found days after the attack, leaving his people without a king. Our town remembered your generosity in the past, and they sent me to ask for your help once more."

Merlin froze the minute Ealdor was mentioned. What if his mother had fallen ill? He needed to get to her as soon as possible. He was pulled from his thoughts as he heard Arthur say, "I cannot travel to Ealdor myself, but I will send whatever supplies I can. Now, why don't you get some rest? We can work everything else out in the morning."

With that, the boy bowed and was escorted out of the room. No one noticed the smirk on his lips as he exited the throne room.

When the boy was gone, Arthur dismissed the rest of the court, and left the room. Merlin followed him back to his chambers. As soon as he closed the door, Merlin said, "Arthur, I have to go. I can help the sick, and I need to know my mother is alright. I will return as soon as I can, but I have to be there."

Arthur was leaning against his table as Merlin spoke. He nodded when Merlin had finished speaking, and replied saying, "Of course you do, it's your mother. I'm sorry I can't go with you, but I am needed here. Promise me you will be safe?"

Merlin was slightly taken aback by this strange display of emotion. He couldn't help but be reminded of what Gwaine had said. But that couldn't be it. Arthur only worried because he was his friend. He could only nod in response.

"Good. I will give you anything you think would be helpful. You should speak to Gaius, see if he knows anything that could keep the people safe. I would send him, but someone has to stay with my father."

"Thank you so much, Arthur. And I promise I will return as soon as I know they are alright. Don't get into any trouble while I'm away."

Arthur just chuckled at this before walking over to Merlin and pulling him into a hug. Merlin froze. He had no idea what was going on. While Arthur still had his arms around him, he leaned close and whispered, "Don't keep me waiting."

Merlin could barely keep the surprised look of his face as he walked back to his room. Arthur had dismissed him quickly after the hug, saying that he should start preparing to leave and after many reassurances that he was feeling fine. Merlin had been half convinced the prince was under some spell, but his worries had receded when an empty goblet was flung at his head when he refused to leave.

There were other things to worry about for now. Surely Arthur and the knights could protect Camelot for a little while while he went to help in Ealdor. And, if he was gone, he wouldn't have to worry about seeing Arthur and Gwen together all over the castle. Merlin barely noticed where he was going, his feet moving without his thought. He almost jumped in surprise when Gaius had shouted his name and roused him from his thoughts.

They had spent most of the night preparing the supplies Merlin would need to help the sick people. Merlin had gathered his belongings quickly when Gaius had gone to sleep. He spent the night in a restless state, trying to figure out what exactly Arthur had meant by hugging him.


	4. Chapter 3: The Fall of Camelot

**AN: Hello! **

**First thing I need to say is I am sorry for not responding to reviews lately. I still love them, and I want to thank you all so much for sending them, I have just been a bit lazy. I promise that I will respond to every review this chapter gets. I swear, its not you, its me...**

**Besides that, sorry about the short delay. I think chapters might take a little longer now just because me and my editor are no longer living two blocks from each other (more like 300 miles now) so communication is a little more difficult. I will try to write quickly though.**

**And another terrible chapter name. Wow, that's three in a row! Well, the first one was brilliant, if you watch Danny Phantom... (Vlad is seriously the best villain ever. or at least the most ridiculous)**

**Anyhoo, my little badgers, thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, alerting, and smiling. This chapter gets a bit weird, it's my first time writing a major battle. Apparently I suck at it.**

**Once again, I do not own Merlin. But maybe if we all chipped in like a thousand dollars we could try to buy it from the BBC? That is a terrible idea. Ignore me.**

**Story time!**

Chapter Three: The Fall of Camelot

Merlin had wanted to leave as soon as the sun rose.

But, he had to wait for the messenger boy to gather the supplies Arthur had promised him, and help him load up a small cart they would be taking back to Ealdor. Merlin didn't like leaving Arthur undefended, but he needed to get out of Camelot and away from the constant reminders that his love was unattainable. Maybe talking to his mother would help him figure out what to do about the pain he felt every time he saw Arthur and Gwen together. Thinking about his mother made him want to move faster. He had no idea what state she was in, and he couldn't let his last true family die.

It took the pair two days to reach Ealdor. The boy remained quiet throughout most of the journey, although Merlin caught him casting strange glances in his direction every now and then. This put Merlin on edge. He wondered how long the boy had lived in Ealdor, he definitely didn't recognize him. It had been about three and a half years since he had been home though, so it wouldn't be too strange for there to be newcomers to the small village. Still, there was something about this boy.

Merlin put aside his suspicion when they reached Ealdor. No matter what he thought of the boy, he had not been lying about the plague. The streets were practically abandoned, and those who were out looked pale and tired. Merlin wasted no time, running into his mother's house as quickly as he could. When he entered the house and saw his mother curled up on her makeshift bed, he almost started to cry. Hunith looked awful. He dropped to her side, stroking her burning brow and whispered reassuring words into her ear. Hunith turned towards his voice, and Merlin couldn't hold back the tears as he heard her croak his name.

"Merlin?"

"Mum, I'm going to make you better. Don't worry."

"It's so good to see you, son." Hunith murmured before a coughing fit cut off her words. Merlin turned to the bag, pulling out the supplies he would need. First thing he would need to deal with was that cough. It seemed as though the "plague" that had struck was nothing more than a bad fever, if Merlin was correct in assessing his mother's ailments.

Still, a fever could be dangerous, and Merlin was glad he had come. He quickly mixed the ingredients Gaius had taught him would be best for helping coughs. When it was finished, he gently lifted his mother's head and poured it into her throat. With that done, he pulled out a small brown book Gaius had given him, saying it could help with healing spells. The author obviously knew how to heal, as Merlin began to chant the words for curing a fever, he could see the color start to return to Hunith's face, and her breathing become much steadier. Merlin gave a relieved sigh before checking over his mother once more.

Her temperature was lower, but it would still take some time for her to heal completely. Now he would just have to think of some way to heal the rest of the town without exposing his powers. Merlin tried to think of what Gaius would do. He remembered there had been a plague soon after he had arrived at Camelot. Gaius had tried to find the source of the sickness, so he could isolate it and stop the spread of the disease. That probably wouldn't work here as so many people were already infected, and they needed to be healed, not just told to give up and wait for death with the promise that at least no one else would suffer from the pestilence. Then Merlin remembered something else about that plague. The poultice! He had cured Tom, Gwen's father, with an enchanted poultice! If he could make enough poultices for all the sick here, than he wouldn't have to worry about them learning his secret. He would go to each house, giving his cough cure, then slip a poultice into the beds of the sick, and make sure they were cared for as they healed! That could work, as long as the townspeople didn't ask too many questions.

Merlin quickly set about making as many fever-fighting poultices as he could. He stopped after each one to check on his mother, making sure she was as comfortable as she could be on the small bed. By the time he started to get hungry, he had made twenty but he was beginning to run out of supplies. Merlin made some soup with some of the supplies Arthur had sent with them, making sure it would be easy for his mother to eat in her state. After both Hunith and Merlin had eaten their fill of the slightly water-y soup, Merlin returned to making the poultices and a cough cure, so he could start work early the next day.

Morgana struck the day after Merlin left for Ealdor.

She had been gathering an army of sorcerers and mercenaries ever since Morgause grew healthy enough to leave the tent. Apparently there were many camps like the one they were living in, filled with druids who had become sick of waiting peacefully and now wished to take revenge on the king who had killed so many of their kind. Soon they formed quite a sizable group, and with their powers, Camelot would have a hard time defending itself.

Still, Morgana wanted to be sure she would not fail again. She found a powerful ally in Agravaine, the brother of Arthur's mother, who blamed Uther for his sister's death, and seemed to know where to go to find cold-blooded killers. So, the numbers in her army grew, even if they were not all magic-users.

However, Camelot's knights were strong, and they had been winning the battle with magic users for twenty years, so as an extra precaution, Morgause found a spell that would grant the user control over dead bodies. If some of the more powerful magic users used this spell on the fallen warriors from both sides, it would ensure that they had the advantage.

When Morgana finally felt confident about their chances, she traveled with Morgause and Mordred and a few of the once-druids to Ealdor where they started the plague that would send Merlin away from Camelot. As they watched the townspeople sicken, Morgana sent one of the younger men to Camelot to spread the news of the suffering they had caused. With that, Morgana returned to her army, and the final preparations for battle were made.

The Knights of Camelot put up a valiant fight, but in the end they stood no chance. They could not defend themselves from the fire and winds the sorcerers shot at them from all sides. And each time one of them fell, another soldier would rise against them. This caused some of the younger knights to panic, even turning on each other when it became difficult to tell who was dead and who was alive in the smoke and destruction.

As soon as her soldiers broke into the citadel, many of the opposing fighters began to surrender to the overwhelming power. Morgana, with Morgause and Mordred following close behind her, walked unhindered into the castle, where the last, most loyal knights had formed their last line of defense around their king and prince. When they reached the throne room where the knights and royalty where waiting, Uther jumped forward, taking Morgana by surprise. He had a crazed look in his eyes, and even though his armor was on, his sword had been discarded and it appeared he did not know what was going on around him. The sight of his daughter after so long seemed make something in his mind snap.

"Morgana!" He shouted, his arms stretched towards her, "You've come back! Now things can go back to the way it was before, just you me and Arthur."

While Uther spoke, Mordred and Morgause stopped the remaining knights and Arthur from coming to his aid by creating a row of flames between them and the crazed king. Morgana flinched backwards, a disgusted look on her face, before she replied, "No, _father_, things will never be as they were before," the tone with which she said the word _father_ showed her deep contempt for the man. "That way was wrong. You were too blinded by hatred to see how horrible the kingdom you created was. I lived in fear because of you. I was afraid of myself, and of what you would do to me when you learned who I really was. You murdered thousands of innocents, Uther Pendragon, and now you will die in flames just as they did."

Mordred and Morgause's flames moved, creating a ring around the once-mighty king. Morgana relished in the look of absolute fear she saw in his eyes before the flames closed in around him. He let out a horrible wail as he was burned like so many of those he had condemned. Arthur tried to run to his father's aid, but, realizing how hopeless the situation was, the knights still around him grabbed him and forced him backwards. As the screams of Uther Pendragon slowly faded, more and more of Morgana's soldiers entered the room, surrounding the last members of Arthur's army.

"So nice to see you brother!" Morgana said, spitting the last word out as if it was poison to her. "You're not quite as powerful without that little magic manservant, are you?"

"What the hell are you talking about Morgana?" Arthur yelled, tears running down his grime–encrusted face, anger and pain filling his voice.

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter now, does it? Too bad. It would have been nice to see his face when you learn of his betrayal, but we can't have another Pendragon running around calling my claim to the throne into question. _Gewrixl hine be stàn."_

As Morgana spoke, Arthur managed to break free from the knights holding him. He rushed at her, only to be stuck by the spell, his arm outstretched, pointing his sword at her chest. But, the moment the spell struck, he froze. Slowly, his body began to change, starting with the hand closest to Morgana. Arthur could only watch as his fingertips hardened and morphed from flesh into pure white marble. The spell worked its way up his arm, turning Arthur into a beautiful, white statue, frozen forever in this moment of pain and hate.

Leon, Percival, Lancelot, Gwaine, and Elyan had no idea what to do. They had rushed to the prince's side the moment the spell started to take effect, but nothing they could do would stop it. Once they realized this, they turned on Morgana.

"REVERSE IT!" Leon shouted. He was the closest to Arthur, having trained with him since they were young. He did not understand how Morgana could do this to them, she had seemed so kind before. He moved to attack Morgana, but before he could get any closer, a strong force knocked him backwards into the wall behind the throne. Morgause's hand remained outstretched, and her eyes promised the same to any other knight who moved against her sister.

Morgana turned to the portion of her forces that had entered the throne room, "Take the knights down to the dungeons," she ordered, "Then find wherever the injured and sick are being treated and bring me the physician Gaius and the maid Guinevere."

It took her soldiers a while to restrain the remaining knights, but as they were outnumbered and had just seen both their leaders taken down, it wasn't long before they were restrained and pulled out of the room. Morgause accompanied them to make sure none of the knights tried to escape.

When the throne room was empty of everyone except herself, Mordred, and the statue, Morgana took her place on the throne, thrilled that her plan was working perfectly.

Now, all they had to do was wait.

Back in Ealdor, Merlin's plan was working as well. The fevers were fading, thanks to his poultices, and the people didn't seem any more suspicious of him than they had been before. Still, it was taking time, and Merlin was starting to worry about Arthur and Camelot. It had been almost two weeks since he left the castle. Who knew what trouble the young royal could have gotten himself into while Merlin was away. Still, it was quite nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of city life, and he really had been missing his mother.

But he couldn't put off his return any longer. The people were almost all completely recovered. Every once and a while he would hear a slight cough, or see someone stop and rest while performing a chore that would usually not cause such physical stress, but this was part of the healing process. So, that afternoon, after Merlin had packed up and made sure his mother would be alright without him, Merlin set out. He knew that it would take him two days, but he needed to get moving now or who knew how long he would convince himself to stay. The trip seemed uneventful until, on the second day, just as he caught sight of the city, he was surrounded by armed guards.

"Halt! You are under arrest." A knight, whose name Merlin thought was Bors and whom he had never really liked, shouted as his arms were bound in front of him with a strange silver chain. It took Merlin a while to get over his shock and question his captors, saying "What? Why? What have I done? I need to speak to Arthur!"

Merlin got no response, and when he tried to remain still the chain was given a strong jerk forward forcing him to fall face-first into the dirt. Merlin had to scramble to his feet to avoid being drug behind the group of knights. He continued to try to get the knight's attention, to force them to answer his questions, but each time he spoke, they sent another sharp pull down the chain, forcing Merlin to stumble, and often fall.

As soon as they entered the city, Merlin knew something was wrong. The people looked terrified of the knights, and many of the houses were in a state of disrepair. Merlin knew that things had been better before he left. He started to worry. What if something had happened to Arthur while he was gone? Or one of the knights? Or Gwen, or Gaius? Merlin wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He prayed his fears would go unfounded, but that seemed less and less likely as he was pulled through the streets and finally brought into the castle.

He half expected to be taken to the dungeons, so when the guards turned up the stairs, Merlin was confused. Soon he recognized the path they were taking as the route to the throne room. Was he going to his trial? Would Arthur be there? If this was some type of joke, Merlin would murder him. That seemed quite unlikely at this point, but the whole situation just seemed so wrong, Merlin could think of no good explanation.

When they reached the throne room and the doors were opened, the knights pushed him forward, causing him to fall to the floor. This interrupted his initial observations of the room, so it wasn't until he heard her voice that he realized how bad things really were.

"Hello Merlin," Morgana said from her seat on the throne, a smirk on her face, "or should I say, Emrys?"


	5. Chapter 4: Terrible Choices

**Edited version here! Not too much different, but still, if you are a fan of good grammar, this should be better than it was before!**

**But a few things you should know about this chapter: SO MUCH DIALOGUE! I am pretty sure this is the longest conversation I have ever written. And as I am still kind of getting used to this whole writing deal, dialogue is where I usually struggle most. So probably not exactly my best work, but I think it got the point across. Anyhoo, please review and tell me what you thought, what was good, what needed improvement, cause I would love to make my dialogue better!**

**And as always, thanks to all who have reviewed, favorited, alerted, read, or whatever else! I love you all!**

**I don't own Merlin. I'm pretty sure that requires a degree in something.**

Chapter 4: Terrible Choices

_"Hello Merlin," Morgana said from her seat on the throne, a smirk on her face, "or should I say, Emrys?"_

Merlin looked up at Morgana in shock. If she was on the throne, what had happened to Arthur? Had he failed his destiny by going to save his mother instead of staying to watch over his prince?

"Where's Arthur?" Merlin shouted out, trying to keep the fear from his voice.

" '_Where's Arthur' " _Morgana repeated with a mocking tone, "It's always about Arthur with you, isn't it? I was your friend, and you tried to kill me! Left me alone, and afraid of who I was! All to protect _Arthur_. Well, your precious prince isn't here anymore. It's just you and me."

"What have you done with him, Morgana!" Merlin yelled back. What did she mean, he wasn't here anymore? She couldn't have killed him, could she? He would have to know if Arthur was dead, wouldn't he? They were 'two sides of the same coin' or whatever Kilgarrah had said. Surely he would have felt something if his other half were gone.

"He really is all you think about. You haven't even asked about Gwen, Gaius, or any of your knight friends. Just Arthur, Arthur, Arthur. Tell me, Merlin, does it hurt when you see them together? To know that Arthur could never be with you? I saw the way you look at him, and he never noticed."

"I swear, if you hurt him, I'll-" Merlin growled, only to be cut off by Morgana, "You'll what, poison me? Try to kill my sister? I don't think you're in much of a position to be making threats, Merlin. But it seems you will not be dissuaded. You want to know what happened to Arthur? See for yourself."

With a wave of her hand, a large curtain was blown off a large, marble statue. Merlin found himself staring up at a perfectly carved, shining sculpture of Arthur in mid-charge. What did Morgana mean; 'see for yourself'? This statue couldn't be his prince, could it? That would take some seriously dark magic. It was incredibly perfect, though. The way the hair was blown back, each curve of muscle, every link in the chainmail Merlin had spent so many hours polishing, just perfect. But his expression. No one would carve the prince with such a look. Pain and anger filled his face. Merlin even thought he could see a tear chiseled onto the left check. Merlin tried to get up and approach the statue, but the men who had drug him into the throne room pushed him back to the floor. Merlin turned back to Morgana."What do you mean? Where is Arthur?"

Merlin's voice did not sound as confident that time. He felt so lost. Morgana definitely wasn't helping. She had begun to laugh at the confused-expression that had spread over Merlin's face.

"Arthur's right here!" She said, patting the statue. "I like him so much better like this, don't you? No more ordering others about, no more bragging, just perfect, silent, white marble."

"How could you?" Merlin asked, his voice barely more than a whisper, "He was your friend, he loved you like a sister."

"But did he love me when he learned what I am?"

"He might have, if you hadn't tried to KILL him. Arthur is not his father. You could have shown him that magic can be used for good."

"Then why haven't you told him _your_ little secret, Merlin? Not so sure he won't kill you after everything you've done? After all of _our people_ you killed to keep him safe?"

These questions hit Merlin hard. How could she know he had magic?

"I don't know what you're talking about," Merlin replied, any strength he had had now having fled him. This seemed to anger Morgana more than anything else he had said so far, as she replied by moving to his side, grabbing his hair and yanking his head back so he was forced to look at her.

"When will you stop lying to me! We are the same, Merlin. Don't hide it anymore!" With that Morgana flung Merlin's head from her, sending him crashing into the floor, and marched back to the throne. "Mordred found me. He was living with a group of druids who have grown tired of simply waiting for you to act. Do you know how many _peaceful _druids have been turned to violence because you _didn't_ act? They told me all about your 'destiny,' and your magic. Why didn't you tell me, Merlin? You knew my secret, why couldn't you have shared yours? I would never have betrayed you."

Merlin looked up at Morgana. She had her back to him. He wondered if she realized how many times he had asked himself these questions. How often he had wondered if he had done things differently, could she still be the Morgana who he had met when he first came to Camelot. "I'm so sorry Morgana, I was just too afraid."

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore, now, does it? It's too late for apologies. And we need to talk about your new position."

"You're not going to kill me?" Merlin asked, confused. Morgana had been so angry, he was sure that this was it. He had already failed his destiny, what more could he live for?

"No, Merlin, not yet. You thought after all you put me through, I would just let you die? No, we have plans for you, isn't that right, sister?"

Merlin spun his head to see Morgause enter the room. Her face had been badly scarred by the injuries she obtained during their last encounter. Merlin gulped when he realized that scarring was probably his fault, giving the blonde sorceress another reason to hate him.

"So the mighty Emrys has finally arrived. I expected you to get here sooner." Morgause said as she stalked around Merlin, coming to a stop next to her sister. "It is still hard to believe you could be as powerful as the druids say you are. Is this why you were so loyal to Arthur? Do you really believe he would have freed you?"

"Is that so hard to believe? Arthur is my friend. I am loyal to him because he will be a good king."

Morgause laughed at this. "Not sure he will make such a good king in his current condition, what do you think?"

Merlin stayed silent, focusing on the floor, trying to think of what to get out of this. If Morgana and Morgause already knew about his powers, then he could use them to get out. He was stronger than they were, and even if they did beat him, he wanted to go down fighting. And if it worked, he could talk to Kilgarrah, maybe the dragon would know what to do. Staying here wouldn't help anything. He turned to the chains around his wrists and whispered "_Min strengest miht hate þe tospringan__I_'" Instead of releasing him as the spell should have done, the chains glowed and tightened around his wrists.

"Do you like the chains, Emrys?" Morgause asked, "They are enchanted just like the ones you escaped from when you were spying on us in the forest. I always wondered how you escaped, but I guess it makes more sense now that I know who you are."

Merlin only glared at them before returning his focus to the chains. "_Unspanne þás mægþ_" he hissed, but still, the chains only tightened, rubbing painfully against his wrists.

"I really wouldn't be doing that if I were you." Morgana said.

"Why not? You know I'm not going to bow to you, Morgana. And now you know how powerful I am, do you really think you could keep me here against my will?" Merlin yelled back. He was tired of this. It was obvious they were playing with him, but if they knew the legends about him, wouldn't they realize how dangerous that was?

"I think you will bow to me, Merlin, with the right incentive. Bring them in!"

The guard standing behind Merlin grabbed him when the doors were opened, so Merlin couldn't see who was being brought in until they were in front of him.

Two pairs of guards had entered the room, one pair dragging a struggling Guinevere, the other escorting a more docile Gaius. Gwen had been bound and gagged, her lovely purple dress had been torn and dirtied, and her face was streaked with tear tracks. Merlin was amazed by how fiercely she was fighting against the guards who brought her in. He also couldn't help but notice that the chains that bound her appeared to be the same as the ones around his wrist, so he wouldn't be able to free her without use of his dragonlord powers, which would take longer than they had. Gaius looked exhausted. He was only wearing the white under robe that he usually wore under his more colorful attire. Gaius was not struggling against his guards like Gwen was, but his face had a stony determination that showed he was still fighting back in his own way, waiting for the right moment. He was also bound with the shiny, silver chains. When he saw Merlin, a look of despair passed across his tired face. Merlin met his eyes briefly, giving him an apologetic smile before he turned back to Morgana and Morgause.

"You have to let them go. What have they ever done to you?" Merlin shouted.

"Really, Merlin, I don't think you're in much of a position to be making demands. And they turned their backs on me, just like everyone else who supposedly cared for me. When I needed them most, they weren't there, so I found people who really did care for me, like Morgause and Mordred. And now, they are going to pay me back for their betrayal by helping me convince you to be good. If you fight me, go against what I say, they are the ones who will pay for it. Well, them, and the knights down in the dungeon. Mordred is watching over them now. If you try to escape, we will kill them off, one by one, until you beg for our forgiveness. I've heard you're pretty close with the knight called Lancelot, is that right? If you run, he will be the first to die. As long as you follow our orders, and don't fight back, they will all remain unharmed. We will see that they are all feed and comfortable, but they will remain here. What do you say, Merlin? Will you obey us, or are you going to let your friends suffer?"

Merlin felt as if he had fallen into some type of hole. Morgana knew him too well. He couldn't let his friends be hurt, not when there was something he could do about it. And Gaius wasn't looking too good. If he didn't accept Morgana's proposition, he wouldn't last much longer. There was nothing he could do but agree. He looked up at Gwen and Gaius, both of whom were shaking their heads at Merlin. He gave them a said little smile, before turning back to Morgana and whispering, "I will do as you say, just don't hurt them."

"Good!" Morgana responded, the smirk back on her face, before turning to the guards holding Gwen and Gaius. "Take Guinevere back up to her tower, and take Gaius back to his old chambers. See that they are both given food and water, and that a guard is stationed outside their rooms." As the guards holding Guinevere and Gaius left, Morgana directed her attention to the guard standing behind Merlin, and ordered, "Go to the kitchens, and tell them the prisoners are to be given food and water. Then go down to the dungeons, and tell Mordred that our plan was successful, and we are ready to move Arthur."

At this, Merlin's head (which had been bent downwards ever since he agreed to Morgana's deal) shot up. He stared at Morgana with a look of shock as he said, "You're moving Arthur? Where?"

"Don't question me, Merlin! I knew Arthur never taught you to respect your betters, so we will have to work on that, won't we? But, just this once, I will answer your question. No matter how much better Arthur looks like this, I don't want him taking up space in my throne room. We will be taking him down to the caves beneath the castle once we have finished discussing your new position."

That seemed almost ironic, Merlin thought. Locking Arthur, the last Pendragon (if you didn't count Morgana, which Merlin didn't), down in the same caves in which Uther had imprisoned the last dragon. Merlin might have almost smiled if the situation wasn't so terrible.

"So, just to make sure you understand your new position, you will do whatever I, Morgause, Mordred, or any one of higher rank, orders you to. And that means pretty much everyone now. Knights, guards, kitchen staff, stable boys, whatever they say, you will do, unless it goes against an order from Morgause, Mordred, or Me. You will also only be addressed as Emrys. You will call me queen, your highness, or your majesty at all times. Morgause will be addressed as my lady, Mordred as my lord, and all others as either sir or ma'am. I'm not going too quickly for you, am I, Emrys?"

Merlin had let his gaze return to the floor as Morgana went over the rules. When she questioned him, he kept his gaze down as he answered, "No, your majesty."

"Good." Morgana replied, "You're learning."

Next Morgause walked to him, grabbed his hair, and yanked his head up.

"You will also wear this at all times," she said, as she secured a metal collar around his neck, "it is enchanted to constrict if you ever try to leave Camelot, or if you ever tell anyone your old name. I made it, and I will know if you try to tamper with it, so don't if you don't want your friends harmed." Once Morgause had finished with the collar, she yanked his arms up, and removed the chain binding them together. "You are only allowed to do magic when we give you permission, do you understand, slave?"

The last word hurt Merlin more than he expected it to. Slave. That was all he was now. He couldn't get his voice to work. It felt like his throat had constricted, so he just nodded.

Suddenly, Merlin felt a hand connect with his check. The force of the slap knocked him to the ground. As he moved back to his sitting position, Morgause yelled, "You will answer me when I ask you a question!"

Merlin managed to croak out a "Yes, my lady." When he brought his recently-freed hand up to the slapped cheek, he noticed it was not only warm from the recent contact, but also wet. Was he crying? When had that happened?

Morgana had watched the whole thing with glee. "Well," she announced, "why don't we take Emrys down to the dungeons. He can spend the next couple days thinking about his new position as we prepare his new accommodations."

"Sounds perfect, sister." Morgause said, as she reached down to pull Merlin to his feet. Merlin stumbled his way down to the dungeons, Morgana leading and Morgause pulling him along beside her. Mordred was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs into the dungeon. When he noticed them, a cruel grin twisted its way across Mordred's face, and Merlin heard the words, "_Hello Emrys_" inside his head. He closed his eyes, and tried to ignore the new presence in his mind.

When they walked past the cells holding Leon, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, and Lancelot, Merlin heard them calling out for him, trying to ask him what had happened, and yelling at Morgause to let him go. Merlin had wanted to give them a reassuring smile, but he just couldn't bring himself to look at them. He hadn't been there when they needed him, and now they were all stuck in this nightmare.

Morgana did not stop until she reached the cell furthest from the group of knights. She unlocked and pulled the door open so Morgause could toss Merlin into the empty cell.

"Goodbye Emrys," Morgana called as she locked the door, "We will be back for you soon."

Then Merlin was alone. He heard Morgana and Morgause's retreating laughter, and he thought he might have even been able to hear the knight's angry cries as the sisters passed by their cells on the way back out. Then it was silent. And Merlin curled up into a ball, praying that this was all just some terrible nightmare and when he woke everything would be back to normal.

* * *

**I'm talking here too! That's mostly because this is something I have never done before, but really wanted to do. At some point Morgana said something about Mordred watching the knights, and this image just popped into my head and I had to write it. So, something a bit funny to break up the angst that is this story right now. And I love Gwaine A LOT, so this is in no way meant to be making fun of him, it is really trying to applaud his ability to find joy in every situation (plus this is before he sees Merlin, so he maybe hasn't completely lost hope yet?) Anyhoo, enjoy my craziness, I'm calling this an easter egg, so you can pretend you unlocked the secret code to find this silly story! Congratulations!**

4.5: The Staring Contest

It had been quite a while since Lancelot, Gwaine, Leon, Elyan, and Percival had seen anyone besides the guards in charge of guarding the prison. So when the young sorcerer who had been fighting with Morgana and Morgause came and stood outside their cells, they didn't know what to make of him. At first they had gone silent, waiting for the boy to make a move. When it became apparent he wasn't going to do anything, Leon walked up to the cell bars and asked, "What are you doing here?" The boy just turned his gaze to Leon for a moment, before turning back to stare down the row of cells.

"Strange little blighter, isn't he?" Gwaine remarked. This caused the boy to focus his stare on the brown-haired knight.

"Gwaine!" Lancelot chastised, "don't provoke him!" Lancelot and Leon where in the same cell as Gwaine, while Percival and Elyan were in the cell across from them.

"Why not?' Gwaine asked. "If he was going to do something, he would have done it already. Plus, I think I can handle the little guy."

Lancelot brought his hand to his forehead, as he said "You saw what he did in the throne room, he can use magic. I don't think you stand a chance." While Lancelot and Gwaine were talking, the boy had not stopped staring at Gwaine. The knights remained silent for a little while longer, before Gwaine spoke up again.

"Do you think he ever blinks?"

"Is that really the most important question to be worrying about right now?" Leon asked. Leon had moved to a corner of the cell further away from the staring boy. His silence was unnerving the knight slightly more than he wanted to admit. At least his gaze was still focused on Gwaine, and not on him.

"But really," Gwaine continued, "I've been watching him for quite a while, and I don't think he's blinked once."

As none of the other imprisoned knights responded to this, silence filled the dungeons was more, until…

"I know!" Gwaine shouted, making Percival, who had been trying to take a nap, jump, "I'll challenge him to a staring contest!"

"Do you really think this is the best idea?" Lancelot asked with an exasperated tone. "I mean, he is the enemy."

"Nah, it'll be fine. Plus, this is all for scientific research. I need to know whether or not he blinks. If he beats me at the staring contest, he must not blink, because no one can beat me at anything."

All the other knights scoffed at this, and Leon mumbled, "Maybe at drinking…" but Gwaine would not be dissuaded. After a brief moment of preparation, Gwaine locked gazes with the boy, who had kept his gaze locked on Gwaine throughout the entire conversation.

The dungeons were silent again for a few minutes, before Gwaine gave up with a mighty "ARRGHH!"

The boy did not stop staring.

"So he doesn't blink." Gwaine announced, to no one in particular. Just as he said this, a guard came down the steps, and approached the boy. The knights heard him whisper something about "moving Arthur" and "successful plans" but they couldn't quite make out the whole conversation. Whatever had been said caused the boy's face to light up. He turned to exit the dungeons, but before he left, he turned back to Gwaine, looked him right in the eyes, and blinked.

Gwaine's jaw dropped as the rest of the knights laughed at the dumbstruck knight.

"Maybe not the best at staring contests then?" Lancelot mocked as Gwaine went to sulk in the corner across from Leon.

**Ok, this is the last AN thing I have to say here. I recently saw Mirror, Mirror, and the whole time I was thinking how great that would be if you rewrote it with Merlin characters (Merlin as Snow, Arthur as the prince, Nimueh as queen (? could also switch genders here and make it Uther or Cenred, not to sure yet), Knights of the round table as dwarfs (I have yet to decide whether they would be actual dwarfs, or just replacing the dwarf characters, Gwaine would definitely be half pint, Percival would be the one who was always eating, Lancelot could be napoleon? Obviously I'm still working out the kinks). But I wanted to know what people who read my fics thought about this, and a possible delay on the story I said I would write next if I choose to work on this instead? If you have seen Mirror, Mirror and have any suggestions about characters I would also love to hear them! I think that was it, thanks for reading and for all your support!**


	6. Chapter 5: A New Life

**Edited version here! Yay!**

**Ok, there was one thing I wanted to apologize for in this chapter. Truth about this fic is that it is secretly a conglomeration of images that popped into my mind that I have worked into a story. This chapter contains one of these (Arthur turning into a statue was another), the one in this chapter was actually inspired by the cover of a book above my bed called Merlin by Jane Yolan. Bonus points if you guess what it is!**

**So yeah, there is more angst. Chapter 6 will be up soon as well, it is so long and so angsty. I hope you like it!**

**PS: what do you guys think of the cover picture stuff?**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, alerting, and just being yourself. You are wonderful!**

**I don't own Merlin. I really shouldn't have kept writing witty things here, I think I have run out.**

Chapter 5: A New Life

Merlin had no way to measure time in the dungeons. The cell he had been left in had no window, and the door was solid wood with only a small barred gap near the top, so Merlin would have to stand on his tip toes to get a glimpse of what was going on outside of his small cell. He spent most of his time in the dungeons trying to figure a way out of his current predicament. So far, his best plans involved Morgana, Morgause, and Mordred spontaneously combusting, turning into slugs, or being banished someplace terribly cold and dreadfully boring. Unfortunately, all of these plans involved some type of intervention from a deity far more powerful than himself and seemed quite unlikely. Still, it was nice to imagine the different ways such a being could destroy the trio that had forced him into this position.

Any real plans usually ended up squashed as Merlin had decided he would not abandon Arthur. There had to be a way to reverse whatever spell Morgana had cast on him and Merlin would do whatever he could from his position to figure out what it was. Once he fixed Arthur, maybe, just maybe, he could try to get the others out of Morgana's grasp, but he needed to be careful. One failed attempt and someone would die, and there would be no one to blame but himself.

So Merlin waited. He resigned himself to his fate, decided he would do whatever possible to keep his new mistress happy until he could think of a way to get his friends out of there without anyone getting hurt.

* * *

Morgana was bored. There were still things to do; taking over a kingdom required quite a lot of work. Many of the people still did not respect her as they should. She had been forced to raise taxes in order to repay all the people who had helped her take back her throne and fix the damage that was done in her attack. Running a kingdom was more difficult than she had expected. All of the magic users that had fought with her had remained in Camelot, making it a lot easier to convince her people that she was in power and, as the news of her reign spread, more and more magic users and sympathizers were returning to the city with the promise of acceptance and recognition for their powers and struggles against the former king. Even some of Arthur's former knights had decided to join her when they were promised a better position in the new kingdom Morgana was creating. But Arthur had made quite the impression on many of her people, and there were still some dissenting groups who continued to try to resist her control. They would learn what happened to those who opposed her. She had the power now, and the people would come to respect that.

Still, with everything that she needed to do, she was bored. She had what she wanted, but if she was to keep to the plans she made, she would need to wait a little longer. Merlin was in her dungeon, left alone with his own thoughts, but she wanted to play. She had been thinking about all that she would do to him ever since they had formulated their plans to take over Camelot. There were so many different ways she could make him hurt, make him wish he had never betrayed her. But Morgause had convinced her to leave him in the cells for a couple of nights, to let him think about just how hopeless his current position was. This way, he would be exhausted, hungry, and even more certain that he would have no other choice but to serve them.

Only one more night now, then she could start the fun. Merlin would pay for the way he had turned his back on his people.

* * *

Merlin was trying to sleep when two guards pulled him out of his cell. They remained silent as they escorted him past the knights and out of the dungeons. Merlin had been able to give a quick smile to his imprisoned friends before he was pulled past them, but his guards did not allow him to linger. They looked angrier and slightly less kept than usual, but otherwise unharmed, and Merlin hoped to keep it that way. He couldn't help but remember what Morgana had said about Lancelot; how he would be the first killed if he tried to escape. If Merlin had accomplished anything in his time in the dungeons, it was the promise to himself that he would get them _all_ out of this alive, no matter what it took.

Merlin tried to keep his chin high, to show that even though he was beaten he had not given up. The guards led him back to the throne room, where Morgana was seated in Uther's old throne, with Morgause standing behind her and Mordred watching from the shadows. There were a few other nicely dressed people standing around the room whom Merlin did not recognize, most of them watching his plight with amusement, cruel smiles twisting across the strange faces. A few looked slightly confused at his appearance, as if they had been expecting someone slightly more intimidating than Merlin.

"Emrys!" Morgana called out, "It's so good to see you out of that cell. Did you enjoy your time in the dungeons?"

The crowd laughed, while Merlin remained silent, glaring up at Morgana.

"Ooohhh. Nothing to say? Well, we've got a new place for you to stay. It will be so much more fun with you up here with us! Ready to see where you will be spending the rest of your pathetic life?"

The people gathered in the throne room all smirked at Morgana's taunt. It seemed like she had some type of smirk requirement, 'only those who can hold a smirk for over ten minutes will be allowed in Camelot's court.' Merlin laughed quietly to himself, hoping that his continued happiness would damper Morgana's spirit. Apparently it worked, as her smirk fell for a moment, but returned with a vengeance.

"Something funny, Emrys?" Morgana hissed, then, "I think we've kept you in suspense for long enough, your new home is right here."

With that Morgause pulled the maroon curtain that had been concealing Arthur the last time Merlin was in the throne room off a giant golden cage.

"What do you think? A bird cage for our little falcon! It's so perfect for you!" Morgana was practically bouncing as the cage was revealed. Merlin could only stare in shock. How was he supposed to live in that? It looked as if it was hardly tall enough for him to stand, and he wouldn't be able to fully extend his legs if he was forced to sleep in that thing. And, if he was in there, he would be on constant display, which would make it very difficult for him to plan anything.

"You'll have to explore your new home later though; today you will be acting as my servant. Just like you were for your precious _Arthur_, except talking back will not be permitted. But first, why don't you show the court what you are capable of, do a magic trick for us, Emrys!" Morgana commanded.

Merlin looked around the room at the faces of his new masters, trying to decide what to do. All of them were eyeing him greedily, as if they wanted his power for their own. It was strange, doing magic with so many people watching, every instinct told him he needed to hide it, just as he had been doing his entire life. Then his sight landed on a torch glowing near the entrance to the room, and he remembered a trick he had done sitting by a campfire on his way to Ealdor so many years ago. Back when Morgana had still been friends with all of them, and still did not know the true extent of her powers.

His powers had developed a bit since that journey as well, so this time when he whispered _"Drakon"_ the image of the dragon did not simply form then drift away. The dragon he formed from the flames swooped over the heads of the court, gliding gracefully, tail snapping back and forth. Merlin guided the dragon with his hand, letting it come to rest on top of the throne, where it paused in the image of the Pendragon crest, before turning its head back to the people watching, and blowing out a jet of flames.

Merlin was guiding the dragon back to the torch when he lost his concentration as Morgana slapped him, the unexpected force of which caused him to fall to the ground.

"Don't you dare make that symbol in my castle again, do you understand! You are not to make even the slightest allusion to the previous rule whilst you are here. Just for that your friends down in the dungeons won't be getting any food today!"

At that Merlin scrambled to his knees, turning towards Morgana and pleading, "No, don't punish them! I'm sorry! I really am! I wasn't thinking, it won't happen again! Please don't make them starve; I'm doing as you asked! Please!"

Morgana just glared down at him, a glint of pleasure in her eyes as Merlin pleaded on behalf of his friends. "No, Emrys. You need to learn that there will be consequences for your actions. Now, if you follow orders for the rest of the day, I will make sure Gwen and Gaius are taken care of, but you will need to show me that you understand your place."

Merlin rose to his feet, keeping his eyes on the ground as he responded with a simple, "Yes, your highness." He had already caused his friends unnecessary suffering, and he hadn't even been out of the dungeons for a day. This was going to be a lot more difficult than he had imagined.

"Better." Morgana said, "Now put this on and go down to the kitchens to fetch my lunch. I shall be eating in the council chambers, bring it there." A guard shoved a new uniform into Merlin's chest as Morgana gave him his orders then turned to leave. Merlin wondered where he was supposed to change if his chambers were now very much not private. He held the clothes to his chest and remained still as the rest of the court members followed their queen and exited the throne room. When Merlin was the only one left in the room, he quickly stripped out of his old clothes and hurriedly put on the clothes Morgana had chosen for him. They really weren't too bad, just average servant clothes with a bright red tree on the front, but Merlin wished he could remain in his own. This just seemed like another way for Morgana to mark Merlin as her own, to make sure he knew that he could no longer make any choices for himself.

Still, it could have been a lot worse. And if wearing this would help keep his friend safe, then it was completely worth it. Merlin hurried down to the kitchens, hoping that nothing else went wrong today.

* * *

The rest of the day did not go too badly for Merlin. As long as he followed orders and kept his head down, most people chose to ignore him. Morgana would tease him every once and a while, but otherwise he went mainly unnoticed. After he waited on Morgana again at dinner, Merlin was lead back to the cage, where Morgana and Morgause mocked him a bit more before leaving him for the night. Morgana had assured him earlier that Gwen and Gaius had been feed and where comfortable, which raised his spirits slightly, but Merlin still felt rather helpless. The throne room was dark and luckily empty at night, allowing him some privacy, but the cage was cold and cramped, and it took him ages to fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning Merlin was awoken by a loud clanging. When he opened his eyes, Merlin saw Mordred staring in through the bars of the birdcage at him. The young boy was holding a small dagger, which he had apparently been dragging along the bars of the cage, making the loud clanging that woke Merlin up. Merlin wanted to yell at the brat, to take out his frustrations on this small druid whose life he had saved, but he managed to reign in his temper with thoughts of the knights. Merlin couldn't force them to go two days without food, not when he had the power to see that they were fed. So, calming himself, Merlin turned to Mordred and asked, "What can I do for you, My Lord?"

Mordred's eyes harden as he glared at Merlin. He did not reply out loud, still preferring to speak telepathically, and Merlin heard his voice command, "_Bring back my people, Emrys. The ones you allowed to be killed at the hands of your king. Can you do that for me?_"

Merlin turned his gaze away from the young boy. Merlin wished he could follow those orders. The druids were such peaceful people. Knowing that they had been slaughtered in Uther's war against magic was a terrible thought. But, as far as he knew, there was no magic that could bring back the dead, and even if there was, that must require a hefty price, one Merlin was not willing to risk.

"You know that is not possible, My Lord. Is there any other way I can assist you?"

"_Yes._" The voice in Merlin's head replied. "_You can suffer_."

Then Merlin saw Mordred's lips move for the first time, as he murmured something Merlin could not hear. Suddenly, Merlin felt agony rip through him. It felt as if every bone in his body had shattered, leaving only small splinters that pierced whatever muscles and tissues they could reach. Merlin couldn't move, he couldn't even think, the pain was too much. He was pretty sure he was screaming, but not positive, as his ears had apparently stopped working as well.

After what felt like ages, but could very well have only been a few moments, the pain stopped. Merlin was still shaking from the aftereffects of whatever spell Mordred had used on him. When he finally regained control over his body, Merlin slowly lifted his head and noticed that it was no longer just him and Mordred in the throne room. Morgana and Morgause had joined them, as well as some others Merlin didn't recognize. All of the strangers were dressed in similar black clothing and were watching Merlin with looks that showed they all believed he deserved this. Merlin wondered if these were some of the violent druids Morgana had spoken of when he was first brought into the castle after his trip to Ealdor. As his vision became less-fuzzy, he realized that many of them did have the tattoos that the druids used.

"That looks like fun, Mordred," Morgana said as Merlin slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, "but next time you should let us know before you start, we all love to watch Emrys scream."

"Of course, Morgana." Mordred replied. At this, Merlin's head jerked up. He had never heard Mordred actually speak before. Merlin wondered why he only spoke to him using telepathy. Whatever the reason, it did enforce one of Merlin's theories: Mordred was crazy.

This episode was the first torture Merlin was submitted to in his new position. He soon realized that this would happen quite often, although it was different each time.

The only people who really tortured Merlin regularly were Morgana, Morgause, and Mordred. Every now and again a group of the disgruntled druids would take out their anger on him, usually while shouting about someone they had lost, but those were rare compared to the pain he received from the two sisters and the young druid boy. Whenever one of them got bored or frustrated, they would call on him and subject him to their personalized forms of torture.

Mordred usually stuck to the pain-inducing spells. His torture sessions were the most rare, and it was almost strange that his was the first Merlin had to go through. Since he had been appointed as head of the knights, he led most of the attacks against the small resistance groups that continued to pop up. This seemed kept him busy and away from Merlin, so he was rarely bored, and as many of the knights had magic and the resistance mostly didn't, his work was satisfying enough that he usually returned to the castle in a good mood. He would still find time to make Merlin suffer at least once a week, but his sessions were shorter than what the sisters would subject him to.

Morgause liked to physically cause Merlin pain. She liked it best when whatever she was doing left a scar, and Merlin's body was slowly becoming covered in the marks left on him by Morgause. Her favorite weapon was a curved silver knife, but she seemed to have a never-ending supply of torture devices, each one causing more pain than the last. Merlin had known she was strong when she bested Arthur in a duel, but he learned firsthand of her strength as she whipped, pummeled, and kicked him. Merlin was glad that Morgana seemed to at least want his face to remain the same, as she had forced her sister to stop when Morgause had been about to carve the same scar that ran across her face onto Merlin's. He had been truly terrified then, almost enough to fight back, so when Morgana had stopped her just before the dagger sliced into his cheek, Merlin had thanked Morgana quite profusely.

Despite her kindness in that one session, Morgana's torture was generally the worst. She preferred psychological torture mixed with physical pain, which often took the form of reminding him of all the mistakes he had made or listing off the people with magic who had died while he served Arthur. She would also taunt him about his love for the prince, sometimes even going as far as to drag him down to the statue housed in the caves beneath the castle, telling him how Arthur would never get a chance to fulfill his destiny now, that he would remain forever frozen in a moment of pain, because Merlin had not been there to help. She also enjoyed poisoning Merlin, telling him that this was exactly how she felt when he turned against her, only allowing Gaius to administer the antidotes when he was on the verge of death. Her torture sessions were often attended by most of the court, allowing her to have an audience to support her as she ranted on about all he had done wrong. Merlin dreaded the time he spent at Morgana's mercy, as he knew the scars she left, though rarely physical, would take even longer to heal than those formed by Morgause.

Besides the time he spent relieving the stress and boredom of the new high court of Camelot, Merlin got by alright. He was used to serving royalty, so most of the odd chores he was assigned were not new to him. He would often try to sneak down to the kitchens, where the serving maids and cooks had remained mostly the same from Uther's rule. As they were still technically "above him" he had to obey their orders, even if they were to eat the left over stew, or take a rest in the back room. The cooking staff sympathized with him, and would take any opportunity to help in whatever way they could. He would still have to look busy whenever a knight or a noble passed by, but working down in the kitchens was much more enjoyable than whatever other chores the rest of the palace had for him.

Soon Merlin began to get used to his new schedule, no matter how unhappy he was. He behaved for the most part, so his friends were treated well. Gaius was reinstated as the court physician; even though he was given far fewer freedoms then he had before. This brought a pleasant change, as Merlin often ended up in Gaius' chambers after a particularly rough torture session. Gaius would treat his wounds and tell him to fight back while Merlin laughed and reassured his old mentor that he was fine. During one of these trips Merlin and Gaius had been left alone in Gaius' room, which gave Merlin the first chance to resume planning an escape since his time in the dungeons. Gaius had apparently been looking through his books, trying to find a way to cure Arthur. He told Merlin what he had found out on this rare time alone, saying that the only way to cure Arthur was true loves kiss. That seemed to be a cure-all for dark magic. That did explain why Gwen was kept up in a tower instead of down in the dungeons with the knights, but it didn't really help their situation. If they wanted to free Arthur, they would first need to free Gwen, who was under constant guard, and then sneak her down to the caves underneath the castle, without anyone noticing. That seemed practically impossible. Merlin hated to admit it, but it seemed Morgana had thought of everything. Saving his prince was going to be a lot harder than he thought.


	7. Chapter 6: Nighttime Wanderings

**WOOO!**

**Long chapter!**

**Ok, remember those images I was talking about? This chapter has a lot of them. And a lot of angst. Seriously, I almost started crying while I wrote this. But I have officially decided no one is dying besides Uther (and possibly some evil people). Just thought I would let you know.**

**So, I'm pretty sure my plan for now is to upload the not well edited chapters when I finish them, then re-upload the nicely edited ones. That means chapter seven will be up soon. It has actual plot! How exciting is that! This story is not just angst!**

**But anyhoo, the edited version of chapter four is now up as well, if you were interested. It's not too different, but it is better grammatically, so that is nice.**

**Thanks to my reviewers, readers, favoriters, alerters, and everyone else! I just like people!**

**And I don't own Merlin. It probably wouldn't be a kids show if I did.**

Chapter 6: Nighttime Wanderings

Gaius was miserable.

Physically he was fine, Merlin was seeing to that. He hated how he had to rely on Merlin for food and comfort, as he knew what Merlin was going through to get it for him. After he had seen Merlin in the throne room, he had been taken back to his old chambers, and had resumed some of his duties as court physician. He was under constant guard, and he was no longer allowed to delivered any of his potions or leave his chambers unless it was ordered by Camelot's new queen. He did see Merlin quite often, but he wished the visits weren't so frequent. Not because he didn't care about the boy, Merlin was like a son to him, but every time he saw Merlin, it was because one of Camelot's new rulers had damaged him so badly they needed Gaius to fix him so he would be ready for another round of torture. He had healed cuts, burns, broken bones, and dislocated limbs, but a few visits stood out from the rest.

It seemed Morgause had begun experimenting on Merlin, trying to find out how much pain he could endure and keep on working. One of those experiments had involved a dagger stabbed multiple times along his arms and legs. Instead of letting him bandage the wounds, the two sisters had proceeded to order Merlin about until he had collapsed. The guards had carried the unconscious and heavily bleeding Merlin into his room, where he had remained for a whole day, as he had lost so much blood nothing would wake him. Gaius had wondered if it would be kinder for him to simply kill Merlin and end his suffering, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Merlin had promised that he would get them all out of there, and he had to hold onto the hope that his former assistant was correct and things would work out for the best.

A few weeks later Gaius had been pulled out of his chambers by two guards. Morgana had a new plan to torture Merlin, and she wanted him there in case something went wrong. He was taken up to the balcony above the throne room, where most of the rest of the court was already crammed in, waiting. There were two guards watching him, which seemed a little silly as there really was very little he would be able to do in this situation. Guinevere was in the crowd as well, she was being held by Morgause. They were standing closest to the edge of the balcony, and Gwen was bound and gagged, but otherwise looked pretty healthy. The only person in the throne room was Morgana. It looked as if she was waiting for someone, probably Merlin. She was holding a water skin and watching the doors, casting a glance up to Morgause and smiling now and again. When the doors to the throne room opened, Gaius was surprised to see it wasn't Merlin but Lancelot who entered the room, being pulled in by two guards. As soon as they entered, Morgause pulled Guinevere closer to her, and held a knife to her throat. Gaius wanted to run to her and do whatever he could to get the knife moved away from her, but the guards watching him tightened their grip, keeping him from helping the poor girl.

Lancelot also noticed and was fighting against his guards, thrashing and trying to get away. It looked as if he was about to succeed when Morgana started talking.

"Lancelot, if you don't want the lovely Guinevere to be hurt, you will do as I say."

"I won't let your harm her!" Lancelot growled, turning his attention to the self-declared queen.

"And I will see that she is unharmed as long as you follow instructions, do you understand?" Morgana replied with a slightly patronizing tone.

"What do you want me to do?"

"It's really very simple, I just want you to make sure Merlin drinks this." She said while smirking, handing Lancelot the water skin she had been holding. "He will be here soon, you just have to make sure he drinks this and doesn't realize what's happening up in the balcony. If you do that, Guinevere will be sent back to her room without a scratch."

Lancelot looked confused. "That's it?"

"Yes, that is all you have to do." Morgana said, still smiling. Gaius wasn't exactly sure what she was planning, but he was pretty sure that the water skin was not simply filled with water.

Lancelot gave her a suspicious glance, before returning his gaze to the balcony where Guinevere still had a knife to her throat. With one little move Morgause could end her life, and Lancelot wouldn't even be able to get out of the throne room before she would be dead. After a minute of deliberation, he nodded at Morgana and said, "I'll do it, just don't hurt Guinevere."

"Good." Morgana said. "And don't worry, as long as he drinks that Guinevere will be fine." Morgana and the guards holding Lancelot left, leaving the knight alone in the throne room. Morgana was soon standing beside her sister with the rest of the observers, watching the whole thing with a cruel smile.

After a few minutes of silence, Merlin entered the throne room, after being ushered in by a couple of Morgana's knights. He looked quite confused, but soon perked up when he saw who was waiting for him.

"Lancelot! What are you doing here? How did you get out of the dungeons?"

Merlin still had his back to the balcony, so he didn't notice the way Morgause jerked Guinevere, pulling her hair back and leaving her neck even more exposed than before. Lancelot obviously did, as he grabbed Merlin's shoulder to keep him from turning around with one hand and offered him the water skin with the other as he said "Merlin, I need you to drink this for me."

"What's going on, Lancelot?" Merlin asked, trying to look around, but Lancelot held him firmly.

"Nothing, Merlin. You should really drink this. You look thirsty."

Merlin seemed to notice the desperation in Lancelot's tone. Gaius wished he could see his face, but Lancelot was keeping him faced away from the balcony so he didn't know he had an audience and Gaius could only see the back of his head. He could still hear him though, as he reached for the water skin and said, "If you say so Lancelot. I guess I am kind of thirsty."

Morgause released Gwen as Merlin lifted the water skin to his lips. She and Morgana were both leaning over the railing as Merlin downed whatever they had prepared for him.

At first, everything seemed fine. Merlin thanked Lancelot and returned the water skin. Lancelot looked much calmer now that Guinevere was not in any immediate danger, but Gaius knew that this couldn't be it.

He was right, of course. After a few seconds of relief, a look of horror spread across Lancelot's face, as Merlin began to stumble backwards. Lancelot rushed over to his friend, catching him before he could fall. Now Gaius could see Merlin's face, as he lay choking on Lancelot's lap. Merlin's shaking hands clawed at his throat as whatever Morgana had laced the water with began to take effect. Lancelot was holding Merlin and looked terrified as tears spilled down his face and he tried to apologize to Merlin, telling him he hadn't known there was anything wrong with the water.

Then, the doors to the throne room opened again, and Morgana entered. Gaius hadn't even noticed her leaving the balcony; he had been so fixated on Merlin's plight. She was followed by two large guards, who pulled Lancelot away from Merlin. This took some time, as Lancelot was quite unwilling to let go of his struggling friend. But the two men were large, and Lancelot had no weapon, so soon Merlin was alone on the floor as he began to convulse. Morgana stood above him and said, "Now you know what it feels like to be poisoned by a friend. Now you know what I felt as you held me after you gave me that hemlock. Nothing you could ever do will repair the pain I felt when you betrayed me."

Then she knelt down and poured something down Merlin's throat and whispered a few words. Whatever she had done seemed to work, as Merlin stopped convulsing, and resumed breathing regularly. He was still extremely pale though, and Gaius couldn't stop the tears as he watched Merlin slowly roll himself to his side and vomited out everything in his stomach. Besides him and Gwen, all the people in the balcony seemed ecstatic as they watched Merlin suffer. Morgana tossed a rag down to Merlin and shouted, "Clean that up, Emrys."

The entire crowd continued to watch as Merlin slowly pulled himself to his knees, his whole body still shaking, and started to wipe up his own vomit. Gaius caught his eye for a moment as Merlin noticed the large crowd gathered above him. When he saw Gwen, he almost smiled and Gaius guessed he figured out what had happened. Merlin then turned his gaze back to Lancelot and said, "It wasn't your fault, Lancelot. Thank you for protecting Gwen."

Morgana had returned to her throne, but when Merlin started speaking she rose and quickly walked back over to where he was still trying to mop up his mess. He didn't seem to notice her approach as he was focused on getting his message to Lancelot. Morgana did not appear very happy about this, and when she reached Merlin she kicked him over, causing him to land in what had previously been the contents of his stomach. "You are not allowed to speak with the prisoners, Emrys!" Morgana hissed. "Just for that, Lancelot and his friends down in the dungeons won't be getting any food for the next few days." Morgana then marched back to her throne with a scowl on her face, and sat glaring at Merlin's slow attempt at cleaning the mess he had made.

After a moment of silence, Morgana yelled, "You are all dismissed. Guards, take Lancelot back down to the dungeons, and Gaius back to his chambers, his services are not required. The rest of you, leave me."

It took a second for the orders to sink in and for the crowds to start dispersing. Gaius was still focusing on Merlin, trying to think of some way to help the boy, when his guards pulled him from his position and back towards his chambers. He hated leaving Merlin alone with Morgana, but he had little choice.

When Gaius was returned to his chambers he was miserable. He felt so useless. All he could do was watch as the girl he had calmed from nightmares tormented the boy he thought of as a son. He tried to answer the letter he had received from a boy who wanted to take up the desperately needed position of his assistant but he couldn't stop thinking about the horrors he had just witnessed.

* * *

Merlin was exhausted.

Whatever Morgana had put in that water Lancelot had given to him was really foul.

That was why he hated Morgana's torture the most. With Mordred and Morgause he knew what to expect, and he knew that he would be sore for days after, but they never left him like Morgana did, completely exhausted both emotionally and physically. And it was made so much worse by the fact that he had once called her a friend, one of his first when he came to Camelot. Each time he looked at her, he couldn't help but see the strong, kind woman who had fought against any injustice she saw in the kingdom. So much had changed since then.

When he was finally dismissed for the night, and left alone in the golden cage they had built for him, he knew he needed to do something. Lancelot had looked so devastated, Merlin wanted to make sure that he didn't blame himself for what had happened. The man was just too bloody noble sometimes, but Merlin wasn't going to let anyone else suffer. He had made a deal with Morgana, and he was keeping his end of it, but by dragging Lancelot and Gwen into it Morgana had broken her word. He had not done anything that would warrant such emotional pain for Lancelot, and he was going to make it right.

So Merlin waited until it was very dark and very late (or possibly early, it was hard to tell time), then opened the cage with a quite spell and crept towards the exit of the throne room. He had had very little trouble sneaking around the castle under Uther's reign, how much more difficult could it be now? Even though Morgana had magic on her side, she was not nearly as organized as Uther had been, and Merlin planned on using this to his advantage.

Leaving the throne room was the most nerve wracking bit. The doors were large and there was no other way out, so if anyone was walking by when he attempted to escape, he would be caught and who knew what Morgana would do to his friends. He held his breath, and pushed his ear up against the door, but heard nothing. Deciding that it was now or never, Merlin took a deep breath and pushed the door open just far enough for him to slip out, before darting into the shadows of a nearby alcove. As he heard no shouts and he hadn't been grabbed, Merlin let out a quite sigh of relief, as he had made it passed probably the most exposed section of his journey. The rest of the way down to the dungeons was mostly dark and unoccupied at this time of the night, granting Merlin safe passage to his destination.

There was one place he had to stop first. The kitchens would be empty at this time of night, so he could steal a small amount of food to take down to the knights so they would at least have something to eat over the next few days. Luckily, the kitchens were on the way, and he was able to sneak in, nick some bread and cheese, and sneak out without anyone noticing.

The rest of his journey was quite uneventful. He was amazed by his luck when he got down to the dungeons and realized the guards there had fallen asleep, giving him free access to the cells they were supposed to be watching.

Merlin was almost certain his plan would be ruined when he reached the cells holding the knights and was greeted enthusiastically by his five friends.

"SHUSH!" Merlin hissed, "If you wake the guards and I'm found down here, who knows what Morgana would do!"

This quieted the knights as Merlin snuck a peak back at the two sleeping guards. They were still snoring softly, oblivious to the reunion going on just down the hall from them.

"What's going on, Merlin?" Percival whispered.

"I brought you some food." Merlin said with a smile, ignoring Percival's question. He divided the food between the two cells, saying, "I'm not quite sure when Morgana will allow you food again, sorry about that."

"Why would you be sorry? It's not your fault Morgana is an evil witch." Gwaine said, taking the bread and cheese Merlin passed through the bars.

"That's debatable." Merlin murmured, then cleared his throat and said, "Did Lancelot tell you lot what happened today?"

"No." Leon said with a concerned tone, "He hasn't said anything since the guards brought him back."

Merlin nodded in understanding, turning his attention to Lancelot, who was currently huddled in a corner, sitting with his head in his hands. "Lancelot," Merlin called, "what happened today wasn't your fault. You did what you had to do to protect Guinevere. And I'm fine, don't worry about me."

When Merlin began speaking directly to him, Lancelot slowly raised his head, watching Merlin with a sorrowful stare. "How can you say you're fine?" He said, "I poisoned you!"

The rest of the knights watched the conversation with confusion, anger, and a small amount of horror, as Merlin approached the cell that held Lancelot, getting as close to him as he could with the bars still intact.

"You did what you had to do!" Merlin said, trying to reassure the noble knight, "And you didn't even know there was anything wrong with the water. Morgana had no right to drag you and Gwen into this! I promise you Lancelot, I really am fine; Morgana isn't done with me yet, she wouldn't let anything too bad happen to me. And that poison was hardly the worst. Whatever she gave me after got it out of my system. You caused no harm."

"She had Gwen." Lancelot mumbled, "She had Gwen and I didn't know what to do."

"I know, Lancelot." Merlin said, "And you made the right choice. Everyone is safe now because of what you did."

This seemed to strike a chord with Lancelot, and he got up from his position in the corner, walking over to where Merlin was standing. He took the outstretched hands of the young warlock and said, "Thank you Merlin, but I can never truly forgive myself for what I did."

When Lancelot tried to move back to his corner, he was stopped by Merlin, who had grabbed his arm when he noticed him turning away.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Lancelot. That is exactly what Morgana wants. She is the one who poisoned me, and she is the only one who needs forgiveness for it. Fight her by remaining strong, holding out hope that someday the rightful king will return to the throne."

Lancelot turned back towards Merlin, pulled his friend into a very awkward hug, and whispered, "I will keep fighting."

When Lancelot released him, Merlin smiled at the knight before turning to the rest of the men in the two cells, saying, "Are you all alright? Morgana says she sends food down here, but I can't ever be sure she is telling the truth."

"We're fine, but what about the others?" Elyan asked. "Lancelot said they had my sister, is she safe?"

"Gwen is safe," Merlin reassured Elyan, "they keep her locked up in a room in the east tower for the most part, but she is fed. I don't see her too often, but when I do she looks healthy."

"What's happening in Camelot?" Leon questioned. Even without his title, he was still incredibly devoted to the people and the land he had served. The concern in his voice was quite obvious as he stated, "No one tells us anything down here, but I have to know."

"Morgana still is trying to subdue those most loyal to the old reign. She has raised taxes quite a bit to recompense any magic users who say they have suffered at the hands of Uther. Unfortunately that happens to be almost every magic user in the country, so she keeps on promising money she doesn't have. I don't know too much about the state of the country, as I'm not allowed out of the castle. I only know what I hear when I serve at the council meetings, or have time to talk with some of the other servants. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but from what I have heard, the people are suffering, but they have not given up hope yet."

Gwaine obviously had other priorities as he approached Merlin and asked, "What about you? You said they poisoned you, Merlin! Why aren't you fighting back!"

Merlin just smiled sadly at the knight, before shaking his head and replying, "I can't. They've got Gwen and Gaius, not to mention you lot, if I don't do as they say they'll starve you, and if I try to fight back they said they would kill you off one by one. I promise that I will fix this, but I won't risk your lives. When we get out of here, it will be all of us together."

"Merlin," Gwaine said sadly, "you don't have to worry about us. Don't let them hurt you like this."

"I have to, Gwaine!" Merlin said, having to be careful he didn't speak so loud he woke the guards, "Don't you think that if I had any other choice I would take it! It's not just you that I'm worried about, it's Gwen and Gaius too! If they send Gaius back down here, or stop allowing him food, he will die! They aren't as strong as you are! There's nothing I can do." Merlin finished with a sob. Lancelot, Leon, and Gwaine's hands were soon on him, reaching through the bars to give whatever comfort they could.

"I'm sorry, mate." Gwaine whispered. "It's just hard for us to know you're hurting and not be able to do anything about it."

"Thank you." Merlin whispered, letting himself be comforted by the three men. It had been so long since he had shown any true emotions, choosing to hide what he felt rather than face it. Letting it out felt good, and being with his friends gave him someone to rely on, others who understood his plight and sympathized with him even if there was little they could do to help. After a moment of simply being, Merlin pulled himself away from the bars of the cell and said, "I should go now, they can't know I was wandering the castle at night."

The knights whispered their goodbyes as Merlin crept out of the dungeons back to where the two guards were sleeping. He had been planning on heading straight back up to the throne room when he felt a strange pull coming from the passage behind the guards.

Ignoring the nagging in his head, telling him that if he didn't go back now he would be caught, Merlin let the pull guide him and he turned from the stairs and moved towards the tunnel behind the guards. It had been so long since he ventured down this path, having no need to once he had freed the dragon, but this was where they were keeping Arthur. Even though Merlin knew he was just a statue, and that this visit would be pointless, he continued down the steps, conjuring a small ball of light to illuminate the passage.

When he reached the bottom of the steps, he saw the blue light of the globe he had created reflecting off the white of the statue. Arthur had been moved to the small ledge that he had stood on so many times while talking to the great dragon about whatever magical problem was currently plaguing Camelot.

"Hello Arthur." Merlin said, almost laughing at himself for talking to a statue. "I miss you. I guess that's why I'm talking to a statue. I'm sorry I left; I guess I chose the wrong time to visit home. I guess if you were here you would have laughed at that. My secret isn't really a secret anymore, so maybe you would understand. I'm sorry I never told you. I wanted to, there were so many times when I thought that I could, that you would accept me no matter what I was. But then some other sorcerer or creature would come to Camelot and you'd be leading the charge against magic once again. I don't think you would kill me, but I was scared you would send me away, and I can't leave you."

At this point Merlin was sitting at the base of Arthur's statue. Talking to the knights had been helpful, but talking to Arthur gave him an opportunity to let all the pain he had been hiding out.

"You always get into the worst situations. I don't know how many times I've saved your life. I leave you alone for two weeks, and look what happens. That's why I couldn't risk you sending me away, who knows what could have happened. I'm going to put this right, though. I promise. I guess you don't really care, but I will be back. Goodbye Arthur."

Merlin turned from the statue, and retreated back up the stairs. He past the sleeping guards who were beginning to stir, and began his hasty journey up through the castle to the throne room. He made it, but he was pretty sure that he had almost been caught when two guards had walked right by the alcove he was hiding in. Apparently the large helmets that were part of Morgana's guard's uniforms restricted visibility for the people wearing them. The throne room was still empty and dark when he reached it giving him time to climb back into the cage, re-lock it, and still get a little sleep before morning.

* * *

Things continued like this for five months. Merlin just barely got by, sneaking out at night to visit the knights or Arthur when things got especially bad. Gaius finally got an assistant, a shy boy named Oswald, who seemed like a good person. Merlin hoped that the young boy would help take care of Gaius now that he wasn't able to.

The only real excitement came when Morgana invited the surrounding nobles to a banquet. She had wanted to reestablish connections with Camelot's old allies, and forge new alliances with countries that Uther had rejected due to their stances on magic. Most of Camelot's old allies refused the invitation, which wasn't all that surprising considering how Morgana took over, but King Alined did come, as well as quite a few of the kings Uther had spurned. Merlin had been the entertainment at the opening feast.

The day before the visiting nobles arrived Morgause had pulled Merlin into an empty chamber, showed him three spells, and told him he needed to learn them before the feast or Guinevere would not only go hungry, but would be taken to the courtyard for a public flogging. With that threat looming over his head, Merlin worked tirelessly until he got them all perfect. Two of the spells were rather simple, one for the ladies of the court which would summon a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and then with another word turn the flowers into a flock of multi-colored butterflies was almost like a more complex version of the spell he had used to create a rose for Freya. Another was just manipulating fire, which Merlin had been doing for ages. The last spell had him stumped for quite a while. The spell was supposed to replacing the ceiling with an image of the current sky, but at the end of his allotted practice time, the texture of the ceiling was still visible behind the image, and he wasn't able to sustain it for very long. He prayed it would be enough to keep Gwen safe, but worried for the rest of the evening and continued practicing once he was left alone in the throne room.

Merlin was not released from his cage the next morning, which wasn't all bad. Morgana apparently wanted him on display, but also wanted to show her dominance over Emrys, and apparently leaving him locked up was the best way to do that. He was not released until just before the banquet began. Morgause had come alone to fetch him, which had confused Merlin slightly. She had then taken a length of rope and tied one end around his collar, keeping hold of the other. Using it as a makeshift leash, she pulled Merlin into the banquet hall, and kept a hold of it as he preformed the spells he had learned the day before. Somehow he managed to get each spell done, even with her constant tugging on the rope and the multitude of people watching. Once he had finished performing, Morgause had pulled him over to Morgana's seat, where he spent the rest of the evening tied to her chair, making sure he goblet was always full.

When the feast was over he was taken back to his cage by a slightly intoxicated Morgana. She had taunted and threatened him the entire way back, tugging the rope so it would make him choke and trip whenever she could.

Merlin had been left alone for most of the rest of the visit. It seemed that all the visitors kept Morgana busy enough that she forgot about him, for which Merlin was eternally grateful. The one downside was with the influx of magical people, was that there was a new group in Camelot that seemed to blame him for all of Uther's actions. Merlin was getting rather sick of being yelled at for deaths that had happened when he was a toddler. But it was still better than the abuse he got from Morgana, Morgause, and Mordred, so he didn't complain.

It was a few weeks after the nobles left that Merlin found himself sneaking down to the caverns underneath the castle to visit Arthur. He was tired of his current life, and needed to talk to the statue of his friend. This wasn't the first time he found himself sitting at Arthur's feet, releasing his pent up emotions to his frozen friend since his first trip down. He usually ended up sneaking down to visit Arthur once every couple of weeks. He would tell the statue stories of all the ways he had saved his life without his knowledge, sob as he explained his worries for his friends, or yell into the caverns as he released his anger at Morgana.

On this trip he felt different. Instead of the usual swarm of emotions bursting to get out, Merlin just felt empty. He wanted someone to hold him, to love him, and his feet had guided him here, to the stone version of the man who held his heart, and upon seeing the beautiful, unmoving face, Merlin had an idea. As long as Arthur was like this, he wouldn't know what was happening to him, so this was his chance. Instead of taking his usual place at the prince's marble feet, he remained standing, and looked the prince right in his blank eyes and said, "I love you. I know I was never supposed to, and that you love Gwen, but I do. I tried to stop, but I can't. I love you with all my heart. And I will serve you my entire life, I promise you I will always serve you with the utmost loyalty. I love you, King Arthur, and nothing anyone does will ever change that."

Then, he stepped forward, closing the gap between him and his king, and pressed his lips against Arthur's.


	8. Chapter 7: True Love's Kiss

**Hello everybody! **

**I has another (slightly unedited) chapter! I have been working really hard to get a chapter up everyday, hopefully this will continue, but I promise nothing. Chapter eight is about two thirds of the way done with draft one, so I might be able to keep it up for at least one more day!**

**One thing I should say about this chapter. Just as I am woefully ignorant in medical procedures, I am also woefully ignorant in romantic actions. This might be a little evident in this chapter. I'm sorry about my pathetic love life, in my defense, I did go to an all girl's high school. Ugh, embarrassment! **

**Haha, *Awkward laugh* well, now that I have done that, thank you once again for reading, reviewing, favoriting, alerting, or whatever else you do (unless it is mean. I don't like it when people hurt others) **

**Sometimes I am just a five year old. Sorry about that.**

**And once again, I do not own Merlin. I think if I did, there would be a lot more gay couples...**

Chapter 7: True Love's Kiss

Merlin didn't understand. Arthur's lips were not cold and hard as they should have been. They were warm and soft, and, oh gods, they felt so perfect pressed up against his.

It took Merlin a moment to realize something was strange about stone lips moving, as Arthur's lips caressed his, and as Merlin's eyes were shut, he did not see the color return to the face of the rightful king. From the second Merlin's lips had touched Arthur's, the spell began to fade, turning stone back into flesh, starting where the two men were connected and spreading throughout Arthur's body. Merlin didn't seem to notice though, and continued kissing the prince until the spell had faded to Arthur's fingertips. This allowed Arthur to drop the sword he had been holding for over five months, which made a large bang as it hit the ground. The noise caused Merlin to jump, opening his eyes, to find himself staring not at the glassy white eyes of the statue, but into the beautiful blue eyes of his prince.

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted, before jumping backwards and bringing a hand up to cover his lips.

"I love you, too." Arthur the no-longer statue said, moving forward to close the distance between them.

Merlin continued to stumble backwards until he tripped over the steps leading back up to the castle. Arthur had moved to catch him when he fell, but Merlin flinched away, still trying to distance himself from Arthur.

"No." Merlin mumbled, sitting on the step he had tripped over, staring at his feet, and holding his head in his hands, "You love Gwen. This is some sort of trick isn't it? Well, Morgana, if you're watching, you've gone too far. Or maybe I've just gone mad. That would explain it, because this can't be happening."

Then there were arms around him. Warm, strong, real, arms. And he heard Arthur's voice saying, "It really is me, Merlin. And I do love you. I have loved you for so long, but I just didn't know how to tell you. I couldn't risk losing you. But now that you know, I'm never going to let you go."

They sat in silence for a while, Arthur arms wrapped around the shaking Merlin, until Merlin whispered, "Arthur?"

"Yes, Merlin." Arthur replied with a relieved tone, hoping this meant that Merlin had accepted that he was real.

"I'm so sorry. I should have been there. This should never have happened."

"Merlin, this isn't your fault. You had to take care of your mother." Arthur reassured, pulling Merlin closer to him.

"What are we going to do?" Merlin asked, desperation evident in his voice. "Morgana will kill you if she knows I broke the spell."

"Well, will just have to get everyone out, won't we?"

"But how? Morgana's a witch, and Mordred and Morgause are here as well. We can't fight them in their own castle."

"Merlin, this is not their castle, no matter what they have done. And she may be a witch, but you're a warlock, and if we rescue the knights, then we will have six angry knights and a sorcerer, I think we could put up a good fight."

Merlin tensed when Arthur announced that he was a warlock. He had figured that his secret was still safe from Arthur, even if the rest of the world seemed to know. But he didn't seem angry. He had just listed it as an asset. Merlin turned his head so he was looking into Arthur's eyes and whispered, "You know?"

Arthur looked back at him and nodded before saying, "I don't know how long Morgana's spell was on me, it felt like ages. Somehow, even though I couldn't move, I could still see and hear what was happening around me. I saw how they treated you when you first returned from Ealdor. You were so brave, Merlin. I wanted to help you, but I couldn't move. I hated feeling so useless, but all I could do was watch and listen. And then Morgana said you had magic. You tried to deny it at first, but soon you stopped disagreeing with their accusations. I didn't know what to think. At first I felt betrayed. I couldn't believe you had lied to me for so long. But then I remembered what you said to Morgause, about how you believed I would be a good king, and how you considered me a friend even though I had hunted and killed people like you. While I was down here I had quite a lot of time to think. I was always alone until you started sneaking down here to talk to me. I cherished your visits; I only wished you could have come more often. It was lonely down here, but hearing you always made me feel alive, even though I still couldn't move or respond. And when you told me the stories of how you had saved my life using magic, I realized that my father was wrong. Magic is not evil. It is a tool, like a sword, that can be used for good just as easily as for evil. So, yes, I know. I know that you are the most amazing man I have ever met. Thank you, Merlin, for saving my life even at risk of your own. And thank you, for believing in me, and helping me see that magic is not what my father believed it to be."

Throughout Arthur's speech, Merlin's eyes had not left his king's. He had seen the truth in his words, and when he finished speaking, Merlin turned around completely and kissed the now living Arthur. The kiss started slow and gentle, Merlin's lips softly caressing Arthur's, but became more desperate when the prince opened his mouth slightly letting out a small groan, allowing Merlin's tongue to enter and probe the warm depths of his love's mouth. Arthur's arms were still wrapped around Merlin, and he pulled him closer as the kissed deepened. One of Merlin's hands was tangled in the prince's hair, keeping his face close, while the other was cupping Arthur's cheek, his thumb rubbing small circles just underneath his cheekbone.

It was Arthur who broke the kiss this time, reluctantly pulling away from Merlin and saying, "Not that I wouldn't mind kissing you for the rest of the night, but maybe we should focus on getting out of here?"

"You're probably right." Merlin said. "I guess I just got a little carried away, your lips are really distracting."

"Merlin, I love you, but you're still an idiot." Arthur said with a chuckle.

"And you're still a prat."

"Maybe we should focus on the plans?" Arthur said.

"Right. Plans. The knights are all in the dungeons, with only two guards watching them, and the guards aren't exactly the brightest bunch. I distracted them with rolling barrels to get down here, it shouldn't be too hard to get to the knights and break them out." Merlin reasoned, it was the next step he was worried about.

"What about Gaius and Guinevere? Where are they being kept?" Arthur asked.

"Well, that's the going to be the tricky part. Gaius is in his chambers, and Gwen will be up in the east tower. They both are under constant watch, and there usually are a few other guards patrolling the castle at this time of night."

"What are the guards wearing?"

"What?" Merlin asked, surprised by this question.

"The guards, Merlin! What are their uniforms?"

Merlin squinted, trying to picture the guards, "Well, they wear a lot of black, with Morgause's crest on the front, and these awful helmets-"

"Helmets! Good. How well do the helmets cover their faces?"

"Oh!" Merlin said, understanding why Arthur had been asking about the guards clothing, "In this light, you wouldn't be able to tell if it was your brother wearing it!"

Arthur smiled at Merlin, and said, "Change that to half-brother, and we're good. So, we'll knock out the guards, I'll remove their uniforms while you get the knights out and bring them to the stairs. One of the knights and I will put on the uniforms, and we'll sneak up to get Gaius and Guinevere. Then we will meet back down here and use the tunnels to get out."

"Have I ever told you you're gorgeous when you're plotting to rescue our friends?"

"Merlin, I'm always gorgeous." Arthur responded with a smile.

"Good point." Merlin said, really laughing for the first time in months.

"Now, come on, we've got a kingdom to save!" Arthur said, grabbing his sword with one hand and Merlin's hand in the other and pulling him up the stairs.

* * *

Merlin was right. The guards were stupid. Knocking them out had been incredibly easy. Arthur had snuck up behind them and was raising his sword to smash the hilt into the man on the right when Merlin grabbed his arm. Instead, he had whispered a short spell that caused the guards to fall into a deep sleep, allowing Arthur to deal with them without them waking up. While Arthur was working on getting the chainmail off the first guard, Merlin ran into the prison where the knights were waiting.

He was met with his usual quietly enthusiastic greeting, but Gwaine's voice was the loudest as he asked, "You look unusually happy, Merlin. What's happening?"

Merlin looked at the knight with a smile and said, "We're getting out of here! Stand back!"

Then, before any of the knights could react to this, he turned his hand to the cell door and said, "_Tospringe!_" The door to Lancelot, Leon, and Gwaine's cell burst forward, allowing the three men to venture out into the hall as Merlin repeated the spell on the cell holding Percival and Elyan, freeing them as well.

"You have magic!" Leon yelled. The smile was gone from Merlin's face. He had forgotten the knights didn't know, well, except for Lancelot of course.

"Yes, I do." Merlin replied, trying to sound more sure of himself than he was. "But I think you all know that I am loyal to Arthur, and I would never use it the way Morgana and Morgause do. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I guess I was just scared about what would happen. I promise, I will explain more later, but for now do you think we could focus on getting out of here?"

Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan all nodded, but Merlin was focused on Leon. He had served under Uther, and would be the most likely to mistrust anyone with magic. It took him a little longer than the rest, but in the end he nodded, still looking a little suspicious of Merlin.

"Why the sudden change in plans? What's changed?" Lancelot asked.

"You'll see!" Merlin said, the smile returning to his face, as he began walking back towards the stairs where he knew Arthur was waiting.

When they reached the stairs leading up to the castle, Arthur already had both guards stripped and was struggling to remove his own armor so he would be able to get into the guards uniform.

"Still can't dress yourself, Sire?" Merlin said, causing Arthur to spin around, one arm half way out of his chainmail.

Arthur's "Shut up, Merlin." went unheard as Leon shouted out "ARTHUR!" and rushed over to his side and clapped him on the shoulder.

"It's good to see you too, Leon," Arthur replied, "but do you think we could maybe try to not alert the entire castle to my presence?"

"Sorry, Sire." Leon replied, backing up a little so Merlin could help Arthur remove the armor and get the uniform on over his chainmail. Merlin took pride in how much shinier Arthur's chainmail was than the guards, but hoped that it would not make him stand out from the other guards too much.

"Has Merlin told you our plan yet?" Arthur asked.

"No, Sire." Leon replied, casting another suspicious glance at Merlin.

"Alright then." Arthur said, "One of you needs to put on the other uniform. Then we will sneak up into the castle to get Gaius and Guinevere and bring them back down here. Once we are all here we can sneak out through the tunnels underneath the castle."

"I'll go with you." Lancelot said. Merlin wasn't surprised; Lancelot would want to be sure Guinevere was safe.

"Good." Arthur replied, tossing him the unused uniform. "While you get that on, Leon, could I have a word with you?"

"Of course." Leon replied.

Leon and Arthur moved towards the passage that lead down to the caverns Arthur had been housed in until recently. They were far enough away that the rest of the knights wouldn't be able to hear them, but Merlin still could.

"Leon," Arthur said, "I saw the way you looked at Merlin. I know he has magic, and that my father would have had him killed, but he was wrong. Not all magic is evil. You have served this kingdom loyally for many years, and so has Merlin. I hope you have seen that he would never do anything to betray me. He is a good man, and he has shown me that magic can be used for good. If you trust me, you must also trust him."

Leon nodded, and Arthur clapped him on the shoulder, before returning to the rest of the group, standing next to Merlin. Merlin leaned close to Arthur and whispered, "Thank you."

Arthur just smiled back at him, and whispered, "It was the least I could do. You did save my life."

Merlin returned the smile before a concerned look crossed his face, and he said, "Be careful, Arthur."

"I'll be fine." Arthur said, putting on the helmet and turning towards Lancelot who was similarly dressed and ready to go. "We'll be back soon!" Arthur called before he and Lancelot rushed up the stairs toward the castle.

Now all Merlin and the four other knights could do was wait for Lancelot and Arthur to return, and pray for the best. Merlin took a seat on the stairs, twisting his fingers about as his nerves consumed him.

After a long, tense silence, Gwaine said, "So, Merlin, how long have you been able to, you know, whooo?" wiggling his fingers to indicate magic.

Merlin laughed a little at Gwaine's strange way of saying magic, then replied saying, "I was born with it. My mum told me I could levitate objects before I could walk. It's just always been a part of me. I used to think I was some sort of monster. I wished I could just be like everyone else. But then I came here, and I met Arthur, and I learned my powers were given to me for a reason. I have to protect him and make sure he becomes the king he is destined to be. I'm sorry I never told any of you. It's not that I didn't trust you, it's just I was afraid, and I was so used to keeping it a secret."

"It's alright, mate." Gwaine replied, the rest of the knights nodding in agreement. "But when we get out of here, I expect to see some pretty amazing tricks."

"I promise." Merlin said with a smile. He was glad his friends could accept who he was. He had spent so long worrying about what would happen when his secret was exposed, he had never thought it would go so well.

There was another brief moment of silence before Percival spoke up, saying, "How did you fix Arthur?"

Merlin blushed at this question. "Well," he began, wondering how the knights would react to this, especially Elyan, he was Gwen's brother after all, "apparently all that was needed to break the spell was true love's kiss…"

At this Gwaine let out a whoop of victory, and he leaned over to punch Merlin lightly on the arm while saying, "See! I told you! I knew it!"

The rest of the knights just looked confused and Elyan asked, "What do you mean? What happened?"

Merlin's blush spread up to his ears as Gwaine said, "Merlin kissed him! I always knew Arthur loved you! Ha! True love, together at last!"

Merlin looked up at Elyan and said, "I'm sorry. I know he was with Gwen, but I just felt so alone. So I kissed him, I figured it couldn't do any harm, and suddenly he was kissing back!"

Elyan just smiled at him and said, "It's alright, Merlin. I'm pretty sure my sister likes Lancelot anyways…"

Merlin just smiled at this. It seemed like everything was going to work out for him.

It wasn't too long after this that Arthur ran down the steps with Gaius behind him. When Merlin saw his mentor he ran to him and hugged him. Gaius just held him and said, "You did so well, my boy. I'm so proud of you." Merlin looked up at Gaius and smiled before turning to Arthur and asking, "Where are Lancelot and Guinevere?"

"They should be down soon," Arthur replied, pulling the helmet off, "We split up, he went to the east tower to get Guinevere while I got Gaius. We didn't have any trouble, but if we don't move soon someone will notice that there isn't a guard outside Gaius' chambers."

"We can't leave without Gwen and Lancelot, though." Merlin said, with a serious tone.

"I know, and we won't." Arthur replied, reaching down and grabbing Merlin's hand. This caused all of the knights to smile at the couple, causing Merlin to blush again.

"Arthur," Merlin said somewhat hesitantly, "there is one more story I need to tell you."

Arthur just shot him a confused look, saying, "Do you think it can wait till we're safe?"

"No," Merlin said, "I think this might be kind of important."

"Alright." Arthur replied, "What is it?"

"I'm not just a sorcerer, I'm also a dragon lord. Balinor was my father, and I inherited his powers."

"I'm guessing I didn't kill the great dragon, then?"

"Not exactly. The great dragon might not be dead. I ordered him to leave Camelot, and never return. But I think we might need his help to get away. Like you said, we don't have long until the guards realize something is wrong, we are going to need help to get far enough away from Camelot without them catching us."

Arthur just nodded and said, "I trust you Merlin."

"I know, just don't attack him when he tries to help us, alright? He was wrong in attacking Camelot, but he is usually pretty helpful, even if he can be quite annoying at times."

Arthur just shot him a skeptical glance before returning his gaze to the stairs.

* * *

It was taking too long. Lancelot and Guinevere should have been back by now. They had further to go than Arthur and Gaius had, but Gwen would be able to move faster than Gaius could, and it wasn't too much further to the east tower.

Suddenly they heard footsteps racing down the stairs. Arthur pulled Merlin behind him and held his sword up in front of him. All the knights had taken similar posses, ready to attack even without swords when Lancelot rushed down the stairs pulling Guinevere along behind him.

"They know we're escaping!" Lancelot shouted, "We have to run!"

As he rounded the last twist in the staircase, Arthur heard a sound he had been dreading all evening. Someone was ringing the warning bell. They didn't have long now.

"Come on!" Arthur shouted, leading the way into the tunnels, pulling Merlin along behind him, "Let's go!"

As the group rushed down the tunnels they heard Morgana's knights stomping down the stairs behind them. The knights were moving a lot faster than they were, as Gaius couldn't move to quickly, but they still had a little head start.

Apparently it wasn't enough as one of Morgana's men caught up to them, only to be blasted back by a wave of Merlin's hand. Suddenly, Arthur's hand was no longer clamped around Merlin's. Arthur stopped, and moved back to where Merlin was standing, facing the incoming knights, sending them flying with gestures of his hands.

"Go, Arthur! I can hold them off!" Merlin shouted.

"No! I'm not going to leave you! Not now!" Arthur yelled, trying to pull Merlin forward. The rest of their group had stopped as well, and Lancelot and Leon were moving towards them.

"You have to, Arthur! I will get out of here, but right now I need to know that you are safe."

"Merlin!" Lancelot called, "Remember what you said, we are all getting out of here together!"

Merlin just smiled sadly back at the knight. "I'm sorry, Lancelot I guess I was wrong." Then he turned to Leon and said, "Can you get him out?"

Leon just nodded, and Merlin turned back to Arthur and said, "I'm sorry." Then with a whispered word and a gesture of his hand, Arthur felt the world fade into darkness.

* * *

Merlin hated casting spells on Arthur, but he had to get him out of there, and he was being a stubborn prat. Luckily Leon was able to catch him before he fell, but still, Merlin wished there was another way. Leon slung the prince over his shoulder and then turned back towards the exit. The rest of his friends didn't move, still staring at Merlin, their eyes begging him not to do this.

"Please, just go!" Merlin cried, "I can't hold them off forever! I need you to get to safety, though, only then can I truly fight back!"

Lancelot just nodded sadly, grabbing Gwen's hand and pulling her towards the exit. The rest of the knights and Gaius followed him, all casting sad glances back towards Merlin who was fighting off Morgana's soldiers singlehandedly. Once they finally continued on, Merlin sent a burst of energy out, momentarily stopping the attack, and turned his head upwards, shouting, **"Drakon! Prostatevo dikos mou filos! Tiro afta soos!"**

Now all he could do was pray that Kilgarrah wasn't too far away, and that he and the knights would be able to protect themselves and Arthur, Gaius, and Gwen if he could hold off their pursuers for a little longer. Merlin turned his attention back to the oncoming knights, who seemed to have increased in number. It was getting more and more difficult to fling all of them back against the walls of the tunnels or into the other knights behind them. Merlin was exhausted, but he kept fighting back, the only thing keeping him going was the knowledge that if he could hold them off just a little longer, his friends would have that much more time to get away.

Suddenly, Merlin felt a force push against him and he was flung backwards down the tunnel. When he pulled himself back up, he saw Morgana glaring at him from the head of the group of knights, hand outstretched, ready to curse him again. Merlin quickly made a shield between himself and Morgana, protecting him from whatever spell she had just flung at him. His shield had been weak, though, and faded after the impact of that one spell. Merlin noticed that Morgause was not far behind her, wearing a glare similar to her sister's. If they were both down here, then this would have to be their main force, and if Merlin could block their path here, it would take them quite a while to get out of the castle to pursue Arthur and the others. Realizing this, Merlin turned from the knights and two angry sorceresses, instead focusing his attention on the roof of the tunnel just beyond him. Summoning the last of his powers, he pulled the ceiling in, blocking the way his friends had escaped. The last thing he heard before the pommel of a sword was brought down on his head was Morgana's scream of fury. Then everything was silent.


	9. Chapter 8: The Last Time

**Yay! I got through another chapter in one day! We will see about nine, it is looking like it might make it up by tomorrow, but we will see...**

**They are getting slightly shorter though. I suppose it was really only a matter of time. Still not too short, though. Just not any more 5,000+ word chapters.**

**Anyhoo, I hope you like it! Just remember, things always have to get worse before they get better! And this chapter has the image that originally happened in my head. So this was kind of the inspiration for this whole fic. To be honest, it has changed a little since then. **

**As always, thanks for checking out my story! And if you decide to review, favorite, or alert, I will send you virtual hugs. Or maybe just extra thanks if you're not really a huggy person. That is cool as well. I am just a rather big fan of hugs.**

**I don't own Merlin. I just watch it.**

Chapter Eight: The Last Time

Arthur woke in the forest.

At first he was confused. The last thing he remembered was trying to drag Merlin out of the castle with him. Then everything had gone dark. So how had he gotten out here? And where was Merlin?

Arthur jerked up. He needed to figure out what had happened after he had lost consciousness in the castle. When he looked around, he realized they were in some sort of makeshift camp, in what looked like the valley of the fallen kings. Leon was the closest to him, and was currently snoring soundly. It looked as if Lancelot and Guinevere had fallen asleep holding hands, their fingers were still tangled together as the slumbered side by side. Gaius was lying on what appeared to be the guard uniform Lancelot had been wearing the night previously. Percival and Elyan were lying furthest from him, and it looked as if they had huddled together to preserve warmth, and fallen asleep in the comfort of each other's arms. Gwaine and Merlin were missing.

Arthur was about to wake Leon when he heard a soft cough coming from behind him. He spun around, to see Gwaine sitting back against a tree, watching him.

"Good morning, princess." Gwaine said, smiling weakly at Arthur.

"Gwaine," Arthur said as calmly as he could, "where's Merlin?"

The smile dropped from the other man's face, as he replied, "He stayed behind."

"What do you mean?"

"There were too many knight's following us. He told us all to keep going, he wanted to make sure we were safe, so he kept the knight's busy while we escaped. He must have summoned that dragon as well, because when we got out of the castle we were being followed by that creepy little kid and some of his soldiers. And they all use magic, so it wasn't looking good, but then there was this huge jet of flames behind us, and the dragon was there, keeping the soldiers from following us and giving us time to escape into the forest. We don't know what happened to Merlin, I'm sorry."

Arthur listened to the knight's story with anger. Of course Merlin would be his usual self-sacrificing self and stay behind to protect them. Hadn't he been listening to what Arthur said yesterday? He loved Merlin, and he was never going to let him go. If Merlin had been stupid enough to remain behind, Arthur would just have to go back and get him. Arthur stood up and began moving out of the camp, but Gwaine was at his side before he could get far, and the knight had grabbed his shoulder to keep him from going any further.

Arthur whipped around and yelled, "Why are you stopping me! I have to go back and get him! Who knows what Morgana and Morgause are doing! He has suffered so much already, I'm not going to let anything else happen to him."

Gwaine just looked sadly back at him and said, "I know, Arthur. I hate this too. But if we want to get Merlin out of there, we're going to need a plan. We barely got out of there the first time, and we can't let ourselves be caught again. That won't help Merlin. I hate this, but I hated being held by Morgana more. She used us to control Merlin, and if we rush in now, we will be caught, and all of this will have been for nothing, things will go right back to the way they were before. And I won't let that happen."

Arthur had felt as if he had deflated slightly during Gwaine's speech. The knight was right, but Arthur needed to do something. He turned back to Gwaine and whispered, "I love him, Gwaine. How can I let him suffer now that I know he loves me back?"

Gwaine just smiled sadly at him again, and said, "I know, Arthur. And I wish there was more we could do, but for now we're just going to have to wait, knowing that Merlin will be happier if we're safe. He loves you so much, and I'm sure he is so glad to know that you love him back."

"Thank you, Gwaine, I just wish there was more I could do." Arthur said sadly.

"We will get him out." Gwaine said with determination. "We just need to be smart about it."

Arthur nodded and turned back towards the rest of the camp. The rest of the knights, Guinevere and Gaius had all woken up in the time he had been talking to Gwaine, and were watching their conversation silently. Arthur returned to the group, sitting in the space he had vacated and said, "So, how are we going to rescue Merlin?"

* * *

Merlin's arms hurt. Really, it wasn't just his arms, it was his shoulders, his back, and his head, which he was pretty sure had a bump the size of a dragon egg forming on the top. His arms were chained above his head, preventing him from moving to a more comfortable position or examining the bump forming on his forehead.

Before he could open his eyes and really find out where he was, his head was jerked back and his jaw was forced open and something was poured into his mouth. He tried to keep from swallowing whatever it was, but whoever had a hold of his head made sure that he drank it all, keeping his head in a position so if he hadn't swallowed he wouldn't have been able to breathe. Once he had finished the potion, his head was released, and banged against the wall behind him.

His head was throbbing, and letting it drop against the wall definitely hadn't helped. He was a little worried about what he would see when he opened his eyes, but remaining ignorant to the situation wasn't going to change it. So, he slowly opened his eyes, looking around the dank room he had been left in.

It looked like one of the cells underneath Camelot, but it was darker than any of them he had seen before. He was slumped against the back wall, facing the open door. Not that he would be able to escape, even with the door open, as manacles encircled his wrists, and pulled his arms up towards the ceiling of the cell. Whoever had force-fed him the potion was still in the room, but it was too dark for Merlin to make out anything more than a slightly darker patch in the cell where the person stood. The silhouette was remaining silent as Merlin took in his surroundings.

They remained like that for some time, Merlin testing the limits of his chains, trying to find some way out of his current predicament. He had tried to use magic to free himself from the chains, but when he had tried, the chains remained in place, the only effect of the magic seemingly being a wave of nausea on his part. Merlin surmised that this had something to do with the potion he had been given when he woke up.

It wasn't until footsteps could be heard coming towards the hall that the shadow moved at all. It stepped just outside Merlin's cell, allowing the people walking towards his cell to fit into the small room with him. Whoever was walking towards his cell, had brought a torch. The torch filled the cell with light, causing the throbbing in Merlin's head to reach a new pitch, as his eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden change. When he was finally able to open his eyes more than a squint, Merlin realized that the footsteps must have belonged to Morgana and Morgause, as he currently had two very angry sorceresses glaring down at him. Morgana raised her hand, bringing it across his right check with a resounding smack, stabbing her nails into his flesh before pulling her hand back.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" She screeched, looking so angry Merlin was surprised there wasn't steam pouring out of her ears.

"So they escaped!" Merlin replied with a smile. "Thank the gods!" Merlin relaxed slightly in his chains, as Morgana brought her other hand up, smacking his left check, leaving marks that matched those on the right side of his face.

"Where did they go? They wouldn't have just abandoned you here! They must have told you something! Where are they?" She yelled, her eyes glaring into Merlin's.

"I don't know, but they sure as hell aren't here!" Merlin said with a laugh. "And even if I did know, do you really think I would tell you? I subjected myself to every type of torture you could think of for the past five months to keep them safe. Do you really think I would risk their safety now just to avoid a little pain? I thought you knew me better than that, Morgana."

Morgana growled in response, realizing the truth in his words. "Fine." She hissed, "You won't tell us anything, and you won't follow our orders now that your friends are gone. I think you have outlived your usefulness, Merlin. This is the last time you will cross me."

Morgana turned away from Merlin and strode out of the room, Morgause trailing behind her. The door to his cell was slammed and locked, leaving Merlin alone in the darkness.

So, Morgana was going to kill him. After all he went through, this was it. Merlin squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. At least Arthur and his friends were free. They would fight back, and hopefully Arthur would be restored to his rightful place as king, even without Merlin at his side. Merlin had done everything he could to fulfill his destiny, and this was where it had lead him. He didn't regret it, but he wished he could have been able to see Arthur take the throne and lead Albion into a new age. And who would tell his mother of his death? Someone would have to tell her the news. Merlin hoped it would be Arthur, even though he knew it would be far below the duties of a king to tell a peasant of her son's death. He would have to break his promise to Gwaine; he wouldn't get to show him any of his powers now. He wished he had said a better goodbye to them. The last thing he had done to Arthur was knock him out! He wished there could be just one more hug from Gwen, one more joke with Gwaine, one more dinner with Gaius, one more trip with Lancelot, one more kiss from Arthur.

But, that couldn't happen now. They wouldn't be able to get to him before Morgana killed him. He wondered how she would do it? It probably wouldn't be quick and painless, not if she was so angry. Maybe some type of poison? That almost would be too nice, though. Would she burn him, just as Uther would have if he knew what he was? He used to have nightmares of dying on the pyre, choking on the smoke while his flesh was burned away. That was definitely a possibility. Merlin couldn't help but shiver at the thought. He tried to turn his thoughts away from the depressing thoughts and focus on his memories of good times in Camelot. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine he was anywhere but here, away from his approaching end, safe in Arthur's arms.

* * *

Merlin didn't have long to linger in fantasies before two guards entered his cell. One of them yanked his head back, forcing the potion into his mouth once more. Merlin tried to fight against him, but in the end had to swallow the liquid if he wanted to continue to breath. They had then unlocked the cuffs pulling his arms upward and dragging him to his feet. He was then pulled out of the dungeons and up into the main castle. He hadn't really been paying attention to where he was going; his mind was rather fixated on what would happen once he got there, so when he was suddenly blinded by the bright sunlight, he was surprised to find himself out on the balcony that overlooked the courtyard. He remembered when he had first arrived in Camelot, and he had seen Uther standing up here, speaking of the evils of magic. That seemed so long ago now, but he couldn't believe how much had happened in all that time. He wondered what his younger self would have said if he told him it wouldn't be Uther, but Morgana who would be sentencing him to death from this platform.

Morgana was standing at the edge of the balcony, glaring at him as he was pulled into the light. Morgause was standing by her side, as always, and Mordred was lurking back in the doorway, watching him with a look that was almost pitying. There were two new additions to the balcony, two identical posts about three feet apart, each with a short amount of chain ending in a manacle attached to the top. The guards holding Merlin pulled him over to the posts, yanking one of his arms up over his head and securing it in the first manacle. As they worked to secure his second arm, leaving his legs hanging over the edge with nothing to support them, Morgana began to speak to the people who had gathered in the courtyard.

"People of Camelot!" She called, "I have been your queen for almost half a year, yet you still resist me. This will not be tolerated. Emrys," Morgana said, pointing to Merlin who was now hanging by his wrists, his back hitting the railing of the balcony, "tried to fight against me. The druids believed he would be the most powerful sorcerer of this age, but even he could not stand against me. Learn from his failure, and do not fight me. He will die here, starving slowly, alone and defeated. If you do not want to die like him, do not oppose me. I am your queen now, and you will bow to me or suffer the consequences"

Morgana then turned to Merlin, and said quietly so only he could hear, "Goodbye, Merlin." She then walked back inside the castle, leaving him hanging, his entire weight resting on his wrists. His shoulders had already been stiff from spending so long with his arms chained above his head, but now they felt like they were on fire. He figured this would be his last chance to fight back, but at least there really was no way this could get much worse, so Merlin used the last of his energy to raise his head, and yell as loud as he could, "Don't give up! I might not have been able to stop Morgana, but there is still one who can. Arthur Pendragon lives! If you join together, you can restore the rightful king to the throne. Don't stop fighting!"

As Merlin stopped yelling, a pair of guards stomped up behind him, grabbing his head and stuffing a gag into his mouth. Well, at least he had gotten his message out before he was silenced. Maybe word would spread, that Arthur was out there and fighting back. Maybe others would join his king, and fight back against Morgana who might not have if it wasn't for what he had said today. He hoped his last act would help Arthur in some way.

So, Merlin hung above the courtyard, wondering how long it would take before his body stopped functioning.

* * *

Arthur hated the plan. The knights had decided that he wouldn't be able to go into the city, as he was too recognizable. They wanted him to stay at the camp, while the others snuck into the city and tried to find out what was happening in the city and gather whatever support they could without alerting the guards to their presence. Gaius and Gwen had stayed with him, and they tried to reassure him that Merlin would be fine and could protect himself. This wasn't exactly helping. Arthur had spent most of the day pacing waiting for someone to come back with news. He tried to think of some way he could help Merlin, but so far it seemed that the plan the knights had come up with was the only logical one. They didn't have enough man-power to do anything but sneak around and hope for a miracle.

Arthur had just returned from hunting around the camp and saw Percival, Elyan and Leon back from gathering information. Arthur rushed back to where they were discussing what they had learned. Percival and Elyan had found a tavern where a small resistance group was meeting. They had been slightly suspicious of Percival at first, but when he was joined by Elyan and many of the people recognized Gwen's brother, they had been delighted to gain the support of the two strong knights. They had said that the resistance groups were being hunted by Mordred, but he had been less persistent lately. Ever since the castle had been host to a group of visiting nobles, Mordred had been busy with other things, and less worried about the small resistance groups that kept popping up.

Leon had scouted around the walls, looking to see how well protect the castle was. Apparently there were guards at all the same places Uther had posted guards, and there weren't too many unwatched areas. They were still discussing this new knowledge when Lancelot and Gwaine ran back into the camp.

"We saw Merlin!" Lancelot called, sitting down next to Guinevere.

Arthur's head shot up, as he asked, "Where was he? Is he alright?"

Arthur didn't like the looks Gwaine and Lancelot sent each other before Gwaine responded, "He didn't look so good, I'm sorry Arthur. Morgana hung him by his wrists over the courtyard. She threatened the people a bit, before leaving him there. She plans on leaving him there to starve, if we don't do something soon he will die."

Arthur was silent. Merlin was dying, and there was nothing he could do.

"He's still fighting for you, Arthur." Lancelot said, almost if he was trying to comfort Arthur. "He told the people to keep fighting, and that you were the only person who could stop Morgana. He believes in you."

Arthur nodded. Lancelot seemed to think that this would make Arthur feel better, but it didn't. It just made him feel so much worse. Merlin believed in him, but he couldn't do anything to help him. He felt like he was made of stone again, able to watch but no act. He remained silent throughout the rest of the night, as the rest of the group discussed ways to get Merlin out. Arthur couldn't focus on them; all he could think about was Merlin, alone and afraid. Arthur wished he could at least provide some comfort for him, just as Merlin had when he was left alone in those caves. But there was nothing he could do. The knights were just talking in circles, going through all the reasons they wouldn't be able to get Merlin out without being captured themselves. Most of them were casting worried glances at him every once and a while, but they left him alone, and he was fine with that. Gwen made them some stew out of the rabbits Arthur had caught that day, which he ate without complaint before saying he was tired and lying down as far away from the others as he could. He listened to them discuss Morgana, Merlin, and even him. He just lay there, wondering what he could do to help Merlin. Merlin had suffered so much already, why was it always him? Arthur swore that when he freed Merlin, he would never leave his side. They would get him out of this, and Arthur would make sure Morgana paid for what she had done to him.

* * *

"_Arthur_…"

When the rest of his friends had fallen asleep, and the sky had darkened considerably, Arthur heard a noise. He had jerked upright, staring around the camp, looking for the source of the noise. The second time he heard it was more clear than the first.

"_Arthur…"_

It was definitely someone calling his name, but everyone else was asleep. It was strange, it almost felt like the voice was coming from inside his head.

"_ARTHUR!"_

That time it had been much louder, causing Arthur to jump up and look around. Still, it had seemed like the voice was calling from inside his head. Then he felt something pulling in his chest. Somehow, he didn't know how, but he knew that he needed to walk out of the camp. As he followed the pull, the voice got louder and louder, until he arrived in a clearing and the voice stopped. Arthur looked around trying to determine if the source of the voice was waiting in some shadow. He pulled his sword out, hoping he hadn't just walked into a trap, which seemed pretty likely. That voice had definitely been magic, how could he be sure that it hadn't been Morgana, Morgause, or Mordred leading him away from his group? He cursed silently and began to walk back to the camp, when he heard something. There was a loud rushing of wind coming from above him, and the trees and grass where rustling as whatever it was approached. Arthur looked up to see a huge shadow descending from the sky, and watched awe-struck as the great dragon landed in front of him and said,

"Hello, young Pendragon, your warlock needs your help."

* * *

**Alright, I wanted to talk a little more about the inspiration image for this fic. Sorry. I didn't want to do it up in the top, cause then it would be like spoilers! But the idea came from the television series inspired by the Redwall books (I did read some of those books, I have just seen the tv show more recently, so that is the one that I was going with). In the beginning of Martin the Warrior, Martin is tied out on the walls of the castle, and left there over night as a punishment. The evil stoat guy thought the seagulls would eat him, and that he would be dead by morning, but then they didn't so he tried other punishments. But anyhoo, that image of Martin just tied up in the wind really stuck with me, so I used it for Merlin. I had to change it a bit, but still. Sorry if it was a bit strange, I just really like this image. It is like a slightly more deadly version of the stocks.**


	10. Chapter 9: To The Rescue!

**Hello! I have a lot to say in this AN, sorry about that.**

**First, I wanted to talk a little about updating schedules. I think things are going to slow down a little after this. I wanted to get a lot up quickly, because this saturday I leave for a week long mission trip, and I will be computer-less for a week, so there will be no updates. I'm sorry about that. I hope that I will be able to get at least one more chapter up before I go, but I'm not sure I will manage much more than that. I have reached the part of the fic that is less planned out (seriously, in my plan for it I actually wrote training montage. Not exactly sure how that will manifest itself into words!).**

**In other news, I got my first bad review! So exciting! I have to say, I like good reviews a lot better, but this was interesting. And, I couldn't send the writer a message so I thought I would bring the issues they brought up, up here. Yami no Serena asked about a couple of plot holes, the first being why Merlin hasn't escaped with magic. I guess he might have been able to try to get out a little harder when he was with Arthur, really I just wanted more drama. Sorry. But after that he is either knocked out, or has been given a magic-suppressing drug. I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear, but that was what was being forced down his throat the minute he wakes up. I guess that might have been a slight cop out, but I needed some way for the evil people to keep him under control. The other plot hole pointed out was that Merlin wouldn't have been able to leave Camelot, even if they could have all gotten out unnoticed, as he is still wearing the collar. Now, this is true, and I do address that in this chapter. To be completely honest, I wasn't thinking about it earlier as I knew Merlin wasn't getting out quite yet. I suppose the only excuse I can think of is maybe Merlin has forgotten about it? He has been wearing it for five months, maybe he just got caught up in the situation, and didn't think of all the consequences? Sorry about that, I will admit I wasn't even thinking about it. Yami no serena, if you are still reading, I hope this answers your questions? If not, maybe it will help someone else who was wondering the same thing.**

**And thanks to everyone who read, reviewed (even if it was bad), favorited, or alerted! I really appreciate**** your support, and take all of your feedback to heart!**

**And I don't own Merlin. Sorry about the long AN! **

Chapter Nine: To the Rescue!

"You can talk!" Arthur exclaimed, staring at the dragon with disbelief.

"Yes, Arthur, talking is one of my many talents." The dragon said with a chuckle, "I'm guessing the young warlock told you about me, as you have not, as of yet, attempted to run me through."

"Merlin told me he about his father, and he said you could be helpful, but annoying. I trust him, so I won't attack you as long as you don't attack me." Arthur said, still a little skeptical about putting his trust in a dragon.

"That sounds like Merlin. He never did appreciate the way I spoke. You younglings have no patience."

"You said Merlin needs my help," Arthur said, trying to get the conversation back on track, "but what can I do? How can I help Merlin without just making the whole thing worse by getting captured as well? I can't fight against three magic users and their army on my own."

"Ah, but you won't be on your own, will you, young Pendragon?" The dragon said, "Has Merlin told you of your destiny?"

Arthur was already slightly confused. He wondered if this was what Merlin meant when he said the dragon could be slightly annoying. "He might have mentioned it, why?"

"Arthur, it is your destiny to unite the lands of Albion, and bring magic back to these lands. It is Merlin's destiny to protect you from magical threats, and help you see that magic is not what your father believed it to be. Morgana is the darkness to the light you and Merlin will bring to this land, the hatred to the love that you share. I want you to be successful, Arthur. I want to see the land you and Merlin will create. I will aide you in any way I can, Once and Future King. And I will do whatever I can to help you free the young warlock."

Arthur gazed appraisingly at the dragon. This would turn the tables. Morgana wouldn't be able to stop a dragon. "Could you take me into Camelot?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, young Pendragon. Although I hope you understand that I am not a horse. I am doing this to bring about a better future, not to service you." The great dragon replied, with a slightly arrogant tone.

"Thank you. Do you think you could carry both me and Merlin? I know where he is, Morgana left him above the main courtyard, if we fly in now, we could take them by surprise, I could cut him loose while you hold back any soldiers, and then you could fly us both back out here? Is that possible?"

The dragon gave Arthur an appraising look, before saying, "Yes, that is possible. Your plan is simple, but I believe that it will work. To be successful, we will need to make one stop first. Thank you, young Pendragon, for trusting in Merlin enough to not let hatred corrupt you as it has so many others."

"What do you mean we will need to make a stop first? Wouldn't it be best if we got to the castle before the sun rises?" Arthur asked.

"Maybe, but there is a weapon you will need in order to free Merlin. I will take you to it, it will not take long."

* * *

Arthur wasn't sure how he felt about flying.

On one hand, it was amazing. He felt so free with the wind blowing around him, looking down at the miniscule trees as the dragon glided over them. But, on the other hand, it was terrifying. With a horse he had some level of control, but here, he had to completely rely on the dragon. If the beast wanted to, it could spin and Arthur would probably fall to his death. And this was the same beast that had attacked his city about three years ago. He trusted Merlin, and Merlin seemed to believe the dragon was good, but Arthur was not sure he completely trusted the dragon yet. The dragon had been flying for quite a while before he set down in the middle of a forest. Arthur climbed off, sliding shakily to his feet, happy to be back on solid ground, before he turned to the dragon and asked, "Where is this weapon?"

"Go through those trees." The dragon said, "There you will find a sword stuck in a stone. Only you can pull it out, and only it can free Merlin from the chains that bind him."

Arthur walked into the forest, as the dragon watched but did not follow. It did not take him long to find the sword. The sun had begun to rise, and the area around the sword stabbed into a large boulder was filled with mist. Arthur thought this was crazy. There was no way he was going to be able to retrieve that sword. It appeared to be fused in the rock. But, he had already ridden on a dragon today, which was pretty crazy in and of itself, and Arthur was prepared to try anything if it meant Merlin's safety.

So, Arthur walked forward to the rock. He placed both hands on the blade's hilt, and pulled. Nothing happened. He stared angrily down at the sword and pulled harder, but still, the sword remained fixed. He removed his hands, glaring at the sword. He needed it to rescue Merlin, according to the dragon, so he could not just leave it here. He closed his eyes, reached one hand forward, grasping the sword's handle just like he would any other, and gently pulled upwards, as if he was simply extracting the sword from its sheath. This time, the sword did not remain stuck. It rose up out of the rock, until he was holding it above his head, and it was gleaming in the sunlight that had spilled into the small clearing.

Arthur ran back out to the dragon, holding the gorgeous sword aloft.

"Well done, young Pendragon." The dragon said. "When we get to Merlin, you need to use that sword to cut through the collar around his neck. Only a magical blade will be able to free him from the device Morgause made, and he will not be able to leave Camelot with it. That sword was made for you, Arthur, use its power wisely."

Arthur nodded and said, "I will." He then removed his old sword from its sheath, replacing it with the sword he had just pulled from the stone, and climbed on the dragon's back so they could continue their journey to Camelot.

* * *

The sun had finished rising on their journey to Camelot. Arthur supposed the others would be waking soon. He hadn't really thought about them when he had climbed onto the dragon's back, his main concern being Merlin, but now he worried, what would happen when they woke up to find him gone? He hoped they wouldn't fret too much. He probably should have left a note or something. Maybe they would just think he had wanted to be alone after yesterday's news? Well, it was too late now. He was already over half way to the castle. There was no stopping now.

There were a few people in the streets as the dragon approached Camelot. Some of them ran screaming as the dragon soared over them. The guards had obviously seen them as well, but they looked unsure what to do about the giant beast descending on Camelot. Then the dragon came to a stop, hovering above the courtyard, and Arthur saw Merlin.

He was hanging limply, his wrists chained to two posts, his feet dangling in the air. There was blood dripping down from where the manacles were encircling his wrists. His head was slumped against his chest, which made sense, Merlin must be exhausted. He would have been left like this all night! The two guards who had been stationed behind him had run when they realized this was where the dragon was headed. Apparently the appearance of the great dragon had startled Merlin enough to cause him to raise his head. When he did, Arthur saw that he had been gagged as well. His eyes were hazy and unfocused, but they seemed to glimmer a little when he saw the dragon hovering in front of him. The dragon lowered its head, allowing Arthur to climb off onto the balcony. Arthur quickly pulled Merlin's legs over the railing, allowing him to put some of his weight on something besides his wrists.

"Don't worry." Arthur whispered to him, "I'm going to get you out of here."

Arthur then unsheathed his new sword and began working at releasing Merlin's right wrist. The blade sliced through the chain's as if they were cloth. It was incredible. Merlin had collapsed slightly when his right arm was released, his body too exhausted to hold its own weight. Arthur quickly turned towards the left arm, now the only thing holding Merlin off the ground. He sliced through that chain as well, then moved to catch Merlin as he slumped against the railing. Just as he got Merlin free from the chains, he heard a disturbance behind him. He turned around to see Morgana marching towards him, followed by a group of her knights. She raised her hands to cast a spell, but before she could the dragon sent a burst of flames over Arthur's head, towards her. While she was distracted by the flames, Arthur carefully sliced through the collar secured around Merlin's neck. It was tricky, he had been so worried he was going to accidently hurt Merlin more, but the sword felt so right in his hands, and it sliced through the collar without leaving a scratch on Merlin. With the collar now broken, Arthur was able to pull it apart and toss it away from Merlin. The stripe of raw, pink skin that had been lying underneath the collar made Arthur's blood boil. He wanted to hurt Morgana, but he knew that wasn't important right now. For now, he just needed to focus on getting Merlin out. Then they could work on a plan to get back at Morgana, but only when Merlin was safe.

The flames above him had begun to falter, so Arthur wrapped his arm around Merlin, and then pulled him over his shoulder just as the flames stopped. He then hastily climbed back onto the dragon, before Morgana could recover from the attack. He carefully adjusted Merlin, pulling him down in front of him as the dragon slowly rose into the sky, away from the angry witch casting spells on them from the balcony bellow. Nothing was working for Morgana though, as the spells just bounced off the dragon's strong hide. No wonder he hadn't been able to fight it, Arthur thought. If not even magic could defeat the beast, he and his knights had stood no chance. He was very glad Merlin had been with them, or they would probably all be dead.

Before they flew away, Arthur turned back to the crowed that had gathered in the courtyard when the commotion had started, and yelled, "People of Camelot! Morgana's reign has been harsh and cruel! She punishes the innocent for crimes they did not commit, as she has been blinded by her hatred! If you wish to fight back, I will fight with you! I will not let her injustice continue! No more innocents will be harmed by her wickedness. I, Arthur Pendragon, am the rightful king, but I fight for you, not for the power, or the throne. My only wish is to serve this land and its peoples. I promise you, citizens of Camelot, soon your suffering will come to an end!" With that, the dragon soared up into the sky, taking them far away from the city that had he still called home.

As they flew, Arthur removed the gag from Merlin's mouth, and hugged the warlock to him. Merlin's body was limp in his arms. He simply folded to whatever position Arthur held him in, never adjusting or clinging to anything. Arthur was worried. He wanted to get to the ground quickly so he could examine Merlin more carefully. The dragon seemed to understand, and was flying as quickly as possible toward the clearing they had taken off from.

It wasn't long before the dragon landed, and lowered its neck, allowing Arthur to slide off and pull Merlin with him. He carefully laid Merlin out on the grass to take a better look at him. As he lowered his face near Merlin's to inspect the scratches that ran across his cheeks that hadn't been there the last time he had seen him, Merlin said in a voice so weak it almost brought tears to Arthur's eyes, "Arthur, what are you doing here? You can't be dead. I got you out!"

Arthur brought his hand down to cradle Merlin's check as he replied, saying, "I'm not dead, Merlin, and neither are you. I'm not going to let anyone take you away from me ever again."

"But Morgana was so angry. She said she was going to kill me. But it was worth it, Arthur. It was worth it to know you were going to survive. So you can't be here. You must be a hallucination." Merlin said. His voice was barely a whisper. Arthur had to lean in to hear him.

"Let's not start this again, Merlin. It really is me. You are safe. We got you out of there, and I am going to make sure no one ever hurts you again."

Merlin turned his head slightly, so he could see who Arthur meant when he said "we."

"Kilgarrah! Now I know I'm hallucinating. There is no way you two could work together! This is a nice hallucination though." Merlin slowly turned his head back towards Arthur and asked, "Do you think you could stay with me until it is over?"

"Merlin, I will never leave your side again, but nothing is ending. I'm going to take you back to the knights, and Gwen, and Gaius. I'm sure Gaius will know exactly what to do to make you feel better, and Guinevere will make you some delicious food with the meat the knights catch. And I will stay by your side, and take care of you. You are going to be fine Merlin. Please believe that this is real."

"Believe him, Merlin." Kilgarrah said. "Your destiny is not complete yet, you need to keep fighting for it."

Merlin was still looking at them with a hazy smile. It seemed there was no arguing with him in his delirious state. So Arthur did what he had wanted to do more than anything. He pulled Merlin's head up, and pressed their lips together. Tears were streaming from his eyes onto Merlin's face. He held them together, trying to force Merlin to see that this was real. Merlin had fixed him with a kiss, maybe he could do the same. When he finally pulled away from Merlin, and gently laid his love back down on the ground, Merlin said, "Arthur, is that really you?"

"Yes! Yes, Merlin, it really is. You're safe now, do you see that?"

"Yes. Thank you Arthur. And thank you, Kilgarrah."

Arthur had almost forgotten about the dragon, he had been so worried about Merlin. He turned back to the dragon and said, "I need to take him back to our camp. He needs food and water, and the others will probably be wondering where I am."

"Of course," the dragon responded, "and I will be nearby if you ever need my help again. All you need do is call."

With that the dragon flew up out of the clearing, leaving Arthur and Merlin alone. Arthur scooped Merlin up, holding him against his chest. He began to walk back towards his camp as quickly as he could.

Merlin was too light. Arthur decided this as he walked back in the direction he was pretty sure the camp was. Suddenly the silence was broken when Merlin mumbled, "Arthur, I am really not going to die?"

"No, Merlin." Arthur replied, "Not yet. I'm not going to let that happen."

"Thank you." Merlin said weakly. He leaned his head against Arthur's chest, and was silent for a little longer before he asked, "Is everyone alright?"

"Yes. We are all fine. You made sure of that. Next time, though, don't put yourself in danger to save us. I couldn't live without you. Now, stop talking. You need water. If you keep talking you're just going to make it worse."

"Yes, mother." Merlin said with a smile, but he complied. Arthur was beginning to worry. He hadn't had to walk this far last night, had he? Everything looked different now that it was light. He was about to try a different direction when he heard Lancelot calling out his name.

"Lancelot!" Arthur called back, "I'm over here!"

The knight came crashing through the bushes at the sound of Arthur's voice. While he approached he said, "Arthur! Where have you been! We've been looking-"

Lancelot's jaw dropped when he reached Arthur and Merlin. Arthur began saying, "I've been a bit busy" before he was interrupted by Lancelot rushing to his side and calling out, "Merlin! Are you ok? How did you get out?"

"Hi Lancelot." Merlin said quietly.

"I thought I said no more talking until we get you some water." Arthur chastised, while Merlin just grinned back at him, then Arthur turned back to Lancelot and said, "It's a fabulous story, of my bravery and glory, but right now we need to get Merlin back to camp."

"Of course!" Lancelot said, jumping around and heading back in the direction he had come. Arthur followed, trying to keep the lower branches from hitting Merlin as they walked through the forest.

When they reached the camp, Lancelot called out, "Look who I found!" causing Gaius, Guinevere, and Elyan to turn from the fire they had been sitting around and look up at the new arrivals. The rest of the knights must have still been out searching for him, Arthur thought, a slight amount of guilt building in his stomach. But having Merlin back in his arms was worth it.

Guinevere began to say Arthur's name, but stopped mid way through, switching priorities when she realized who Arthur was carrying. What she ended up saying sounded something like, "Arth..MERLIN!" As her, Gaius, and Elyan rushed to them.

"He needs water." Arthur said before Merlin even had a chance to respond.

Guinevere ran back to the small fire-pit, where they had arranged all the supplies the knights had "borrowed" from some of the wealthier citizen of Camelot on their trip in yesterday, and grabbed a silver tankard they had filled with water. She then rushed back over to Arthur and Merlin, careful not to spill a drop, and slowly poured the water into Merlin's mouth while Gaius held his head up to keep him from choking. Merlin took four large gulps before Gaius instructed Guinevere to take the goblet away, lest Merlin take too much and become sick. As the goblet was removed from his mouth, Merlin turned his head and said, "Thanks, Gwen."

Arthur was happy to hear that Merlin's voice did sound a little better now that he had drunk something. Arthur carefully carried Merlin nearer to the fire, and gently laid him down on the ground, then sat next to him, maneuvering so Merlin's head lay on his leg instead of on the ground. Gaius followed him and sat down by Merlin's stomach, and began to assess Merlin's injuries. While Gaius checked him over, Arthur fed Merlin small pieces of a soft loaf of bread the tavern owner had given to Percival and Elyan when they said they would be joining the rebellion, and needed supplies. After Merlin had taken a few bites, he fell asleep, and Arthur began to run his fingers through his untidy black hair and asked Gaius, "Will he be alright?"

Gaius smiled at the prince and said, "He should be fine. He is slightly malnourished, and both his shoulders seem dislocated. It will be a while before he is at full strength again, but he should make a full recovery. I have been treating the injuries he received from Morgana, Morgause, and Mordred for quite a while now, so I know that they have all healed nicely. There will be scars from his time spent with them, but otherwise he will be fine."

Arthur just nodded and went back to stroking Merlin's forehead. Elyan and Lancelot had gone out to find the other knights and tell them to Arthur had been found, leaving himself, Merlin, Gaius, and Guinevere to sit and wait for them to come back. Apparently whoever had found Gwaine had failed to tell him that Arthur had brought Merlin back as well, as they heard the knight approach the camp yelling, "Arthur you spoiled brat, do you know how worried we've been? I had to spend the whole day stomping through a stinking swamp, trying to find you, you…" Gwaine's angry rant stopped when he entered the camp and saw Merlin, who was no longer sleeping, staring up at him from Arthurs lap. "Bloody hell." The knight whispered before rushing over and sitting in front of Arthur so he could be near Merlin's head. "Merlin! It's so good to see you! Are you alright, mate?"

"Yeah, I think so." Merlin said with a smile, "It's good to be out of that castle."

"Couldn't agree with you more." Gwaine said, patting Merlin's arm gently. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"You could pass me the water." Arthur said in a commanding tone. "As long as you're awake, Merlin, you should drink more."

Merlin nodded, as Gwaine moved to get the goblet. Arthur held the goblet in one hand, and Merlin's head in the other, and made sure Merlin drank a good amount in small sips. When about half the water was gone, Arthur set the goblet down, and asked Gwaine, "Where are the others? Do you know about how long it will take before they get back?"

"Lancelot found me." Gwaine said. "Told me you were back so there was no need to keep searching. He kept going to look for Leon. I was looking in the north-east direction, Leon was taking north-west. Lancelot said Elyan went out to look for Percival, who had been traveling south-west, so they should be back soon. Lancelot and Leon might still be a while, though."

Arthur nodded and turned to Merlin, saying, "You should get some more sleep. I'll wake you when everyone is back."

"Only if you give me a goodnight kiss!" Merlin teased, lifting his neck slightly and puckering his lips. Gwaine chuckled at Merlin's expression as Arthur gently pushed his head back down, saying, "Sleep, Merlin."

"If you say so, your highness." Merlin replied. Arthur always wondered how Merlin could make that title sound like such an insult, but at least he was following orders. Merlin had closed his eyes and was snuggling back against Arthur's leg.

* * *

Percival had not been as noisy as Gwaine was when he and Elyan reentered the camp, so Merlin was able to sleep until Leon and Lancelot got back. Leon had been quite excited to see Arthur, and had woken Merlin with his loud exaltation that both Arthur and Merlin were alright. It was probably for the best though, as Gaius had made some soup he believed would help Merlin regain his strength, and it was about time for them to eat. Arthur gently helped Merlin move so he was sitting up against a tree. Although he could now stand with assistance, Merlin's arms were still very sore and could not move without causing Merlin great pain, so Arthur took it upon himself to feed him. As they ate Arthur told the story of how he had met with the dragon, and how they had flew into the city to rescue Merlin. He showed them all the sword, and notice a strange look pass over Merlin's face as he explained how he had pulled it from the stone. As the sun began to set, Arthur helped Merlin move over to one side of the fire, and together they fell asleep, Arthur holding Merlin close to keep him safe and warm.


	11. Chapter 10: Plans and Strategies

**Hello! This is probably going to be the last chapter I get up before I leave. Sorry about the break. I will try to finish chapter 11, but that's going to have more of a cliff hanger, so it might be best if I leave it here...**

**Umm, I have some good news! Or possibly bad news... Depends on how long you want this story to be. I finally figured out how I'm going to end this story (the words "training montage" have been removed from the plan). What I decided on will take a bit longer then I originally expected, so there will be about five more chapters and an epilogue if everything goes according to plan. I hope this doesn't upset anyone. **

**I am also bringing a character from season four into this story. If you can figure it out from this chapter, you paid a lot more attention to the episode they are from then I did. Or you have a very good memory.**

**And thanks so much for all the lovely reviews! I guess complaining about bad reviews got a bunch of people to take the extra time to send me good ones! thank you all so much! I really appreciate it! And even if you don't review, thanks for reading! You are all awesome, no matter what!**

**I don't own Merlin. While I was swimming today, I daydreamed that I got to be an extra in some random scene, but that is about as close as I have ever gotten :)**

Chapter Ten: Plans and Strategies

Merlin woke with Arthur's arms around him. He felt safe and happy for the first time in months. He tried to sit up, to see if he could help with getting breakfast ready, but when he tried to move his arms screamed in protest. He fell back to the ground with a small grunt of pain, and felt Arthur pull him closer.

"Are you alright?" Arthur whispered in his ear.

"Yeah," Merlin replied, "I guess my arms aren't completely healed yet, though."

"Of course there not, you idiot. You dislocated both your shoulders; I think it's going to take a little longer than a day for them to heal completely. Do you need anything?"

Merlin turned his head so he could see Arthur's face, before replying, "I need you to kiss me."

"That, I can do." Arthur said, leaning forward kissing Merlin softly. He only pulled away when they heard a snigger behind them.

"Don't stop on my account!" Gwaine said, from his place near the slightly smoking fire pit. Arthur glared at him while a blush spread across Merlin's checks. Arthur chose to ignore Gwaine, and turned back to Merlin, saying, "We should get you up. You still need to eat more, I'm pretty sure there are boys half your age who weigh more than you."

"Hey!" Merlin cried, with a slightly scandalized tone, "I'm not that skinny! Just because you're all…"

"I sincerely hope the next word out of your mouth is brawny, strong, or muscular or you will be spending a month in the stocks once we beat Morgana."

"But if I was locked in the socks, I wouldn't be able to do this!" Merlin said, pushing his lips back against Arthur's, choosing to ignore Gwaine laughing in the background. When he pulled back, Arthur looked slightly flustered, shook his head, and said, "Well, I will have to take that into consideration. We will have to find a way to teach you that doesn't limit your… special talents…" Arthur glanced over Merlin's head to where Gwaine was sitting, and a smile spread across his face. "Perhaps," he said, trying to keep from smiling and failing terribly, "your punishment could involve washing Gwaine's socks for a month. Would that help you learn how to show proper respect to your king?"

Merlin's face filled with dread as he replied, "You wouldn't. Not even you could be that cruel." Gwaine let out a frustrated grunt, and began to rant about his socks, and how they really weren't all that bad, while Merlin and Arthur just smiled at each other and laughed at the slightly annoyed knight.

After Gwaine had quieted slightly, though he would still murmur things like "there not that bad" or "all socks smell" every once and a while, Arthur turned his attention back to Merlin. "Do you feel up for eating some breakfast? I think there was a little of that bread still left, and you need it more than the rest of us do."

Merlin nodded, and let himself be helped up by Arthur. They walked over to a tree near the fire, Merlin putting most of his weight on Arthur. Arthur carefully set Merlin down next to the tree, so he could lean against the trunk, sitting upright without using too much energy. Arthur then walked over to where the supplies where being kept and picked up the loaf of bread and the goblet of water. He then returned to Merlin's side and began to feed him breakfast.

Once Merlin had eaten a sizable portion of the remaining bread, Arthur noticed that the rest of their group was beginning to stir. Gwaine had gone down to a nearby river to refill the goblet, so Merlin and Arthur were the only ones sitting by the fire. Percival and Elyan were the first to join them. Apparently neither of them were morning people, as Percival looked quite out of it, and Elyan had his head leaned up against Percival's massive arm and still looked half asleep. Arthur handed the rest of the bread to Percival, who seemed to barely register what he was eating as he tore a large chunk off before handing it to Elyan. By the time Elyan had taken his portion of what was left, Leon had approached the small group, and picked up what was left of the loaf, taking a small portion before returning it to the small pile of supplies they had gathered. Once he was settled, Gwaine came back with the water, handing it to Gaius who was moving to sit on the other side of Merlin to recheck his condition. Gwen and Lancelot were the last to join them. Gwen was wiping the sleep away from her eyes with one hand and holding Lancelot's hand in the other. This apparently perked Merlin up, and he asked, "Gwen, Lancelot, are you two…"

Lancelot just beamed at him, while Gwen replied, saying, "We talked after we got out. We missed each other so much when we were imprisoned by Morgana. Lancelot admitted his feelings to me, and said he didn't want to risk losing me again. I guess we've just been blind to each other's feelings for way too long."

"That's great!" Merlin exclaimed, "I'm so happy for you two!"

"And we're happy for you and Arthur. It's so good that we all realized what was right in front of our eyes." Lancelot said, his eyes never leaving Merlin. The look they shared was filled with joy, after spending so long thinking they could never be with the one they loved, it seemed everything was finally going to work out perfectly.

Lancelot and Guinevere sat in the last gap in the circle around the fire, between Gwaine and Leon, directly across from Arthur and Merlin. After a moment of content silence, Gaius said, "Merlin, I'm going to have to relocate your shoulders. I didn't want to do it yesterday, because it will be quite painful, and I didn't want to put unnecessary stress on your body. But, now that you have rested and replenished your liquids, I think you will be alright. It will be quite painful, but if we don't do it soon, there could be permanent damage. Are you ready?"

Merlin gritted his teeth and said, "Let's get this over with."

"Arthur," Gaius instructed, "help me get his shirt off. We might have to use it as a splint until something more suitable is found."

Arthur nodded; helping Gaius remove the tunic without disturbing Merlin's swollen joints too much. He was still wearing the uniform he had been given by Morgana, and was not sad to see it go. Gaius ripped a sizable chunk of the fabric away from the rest.

"Merlin, I'm going to need you to bite down on this. It will help."

Merlin nodded, and opened his mouth so Gaius could place the balled-up fabric in. He then bit down hard, trying not to think of how similar it felt to the gag that Morgana's men had placed in his mouth two days ago, as Arthur and Gaius moved him away from the tree, so he was lying flat on his back. Arthur sat near his head, gentle stroking his brow and whispering comfort to him, as Gaius picked up his right arm, bending it slightly past straight up at his elbow, and began to slowly rotate his upper arm, pressing gently on his elbow, causing his shoulder to rotate slightly until, with a flash of pain and a loud crack, his shoulder slid back into place. Merlin cried out in pain, but most of the sound was lost in the fabric between his teeth. Arthur had a hold of his head, his hands were cool and clammy, as he tried to comfort Merlin. Gaius gently laid his right arm down, then moved to the other side and repeated the process with the left arm. Merlin felt sweat drip down his brow as the ball of cloth was removed from his mouth, and Gaius began to work on turning his old tunic into long triangular pieces that could be used to make splints for his arms. Arthur helped Merlin sit back up, bringing his back against Arthur's chest, adjusting so Gaius could bind Merlin's arms in a position that would give him the least amount of pain. Once Gaius was done, he turned to Merlin and said, "How does that feel?"

"Besides the pain when they went back in, better." Merlin said, with a weak smile. "Could I have some more water?"

Elyan, who was currently holding the half-filled goblet, jumped to Merlin's side, and helped him drink what was left in the goblet.

"You should rest today, Merlin." Gaius instructed, "I don't want you to move your arms unless it is absolutely necessary. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Gaius. I'll be careful." Merlin replied, leaning back against Arthur.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Arthur said, bending his head down, and placing a quick kiss on the top of Merlin's head.

"So," Merlin said, looking around the circle, "what's the plan? How are we going to take down Morgana?"

"We've been trying to recruit as many of the people to our cause as possible." Leon said, "There isn't much we can do against an entire army until we have one of our own."

Merlin nodded, while Percival took it from there, saying, "Elyan and I found a small resistance group that meets in the Rising Sun tavern. We have been talking with them, trying to find out everything we can about Morgana we can."

"And me and Lancelot have been spying on all the rich snobs we can find." Gwaine said, "We want to find out who will fight for Morgana when the need arises. So far, we might have done more stealing than spying, but it has been prosperous." Gwaine said, gesturing to the pile of supplies they had brought back from their first day in Camelot.

There was a moment of silence, as the group thought about what they had done, and how far they still needed to go before they could fight Morgana. Then Lancelot spoke up, saying, "I've been thinking, we're going to need a place for the others who want to join us to meet, and we're going to need weapons. What if we go back to that castle, the one with the round table, where we stayed after Morgana took over the first time? There were weapons there, left by whatever bandits had been using the castle, and that would be an easy enough place to give directions to. We could hold a large number of people there while we plan how to take the city, and Morgana doesn't seem to know about it."

"That's brilliant, Lancelot!" Arthur responded. "While you lot go back into the city today, Merlin, Gaius, Guinevere, and I can move our camp to the castle. We can check it out while you get more information, and maybe some more food. Will you be up for a little journey, Merlin?"

"I think so," Merlin replied, "and remember, when we attack, we will also have a dragon on our side."

"Are you sure he will fight for us?" Arthur asked.

"Yes. He will fight for us." Merlin said. Kilgarrah always had hated Morgana, so he probably wouldn't be too adverse to this. Merlin didn't want to use his dragon lord powers, but they needed all the help they could get, so he would if it was necessary.

Arthur just nodded at this, apparently deep in thought. "We should probably all head out soon," Arthur said, "I'm not sure, but they might have seen what direction the dragon flew to get me back here, and they could have some idea of where our camp is. It would probably be best if we started moving before they can make a move."

The rest of the group all agreed with Arthur, and began working on clearing their camp.

* * *

After packing up the camp, the knights departed, leaving in waves, so they would have less trouble sneaking into the castle. Percival and Elyan left first, and after a few minutes waiting, Gwaine, Lancelot, and Leon followed. When they were gone, Arthur helped Merlin up, slung the bag of supplies they had gathered over one shoulder, and led the small group towards the abandoned castle. It was slow going. Merlin was still exhausted, and needed to rest quite often. When they finally made it to the castle, Gaius inspected Merlin's shoulders, and told him to rest, while Guinevere went out to gather some firewood and see if she could find anything they would be able to eat. Arthur stayed with Merlin; there were somethings he needed to ask the young warlock.

"Merlin, you know that I trust you, right?"

Merlin looked at him with confusion, and replied, "Yes… is everything alright Arthur?"

"I'm fine, Merlin. I just need to know, did you release the great dragon?"

Merlin paled visibly, looking at Arthur with sadness, and to Arthur's horror, fear. His gaze left Arthur's, turning instead to the floor, as he whispered, "Yes. I released him."

Arthur nodded. He had figured that Merlin must have been the one who released the dragon when Merlin spoke as if he knew the beast. He had tried not to think about it, focus instead on all the good Merlin had done. But he needed to know the whole story, so he asked, his face an emotionless mask, "Why? Did you know he would attack the city?"

"Arthur, I'm so sorry. But I had no choice! I swore on my mother's life I would set him free. And I hoped that he wouldn't attack Camelot. He used to help me, when Camelot was threatened by magic. Do you remember the afanc? He gave me the information I needed to destroy it. And then when Cedric broke into the vaults, and was possessed by the spirit of Cornelius Sigan, the only way I could stop him was with a spell the dragon gave me. But he wouldn't give it to me until I promised I would release him, some day. I tried to argue with him, but it was either let Camelot fall to Sigan, or give my word to the dragon. So I promised I would set him free. I hoped the day I had to would never come, I kept putting it off, but then, when Morgause attacked with the Knights of Medhir, I needed his help again. Everyone was falling asleep, and we weren't going to last much longer, I had to know how to stop it. The dragon wouldn't tell me, until I swore to release him. I swore on my mother's life, Arthur! I couldn't go against that. She's the only family I have. When we stopped Morgause, I stole one of the swords of the Knights of Medhir, and used it to free the dragon. I tried to get him to promise he wouldn't harm Camelot, but he wouldn't, and I had to free him. I'm so sorry, Arthur. The dragon hated Uther. He was alone, so he attacked the city. I wished that I had been able to do something to prevent it, but I had no choice. I had to do it, Arthur, I'm so sorry."

Arthur remained silent through the entire story, refusing to look Merlin in the eyes while he spoke. When he finished, Arthur turned his gaze back to the sorcerer, and noticed there were tears in his eyes. Arthur felt terrible for making him go through this. He loved Merlin, and yet he was forcing him to relive such a painful moment. It was obvious Merlin had acted in the way that he believed was best for the kingdom. If he hadn't made those promises to the dragon, there probably would have been no Camelot for the dragon to attack. Arthur reached his arm around Merlin, and pulled him close, whispering, "It's alright, Merlin. I understand. You did what you had to to protect the city."

Merlin sniffed, wiping the tears from his eyes, then mumbled, "Thank you Arthur. I used to wonder if there was some way I could have saved the city without freeing the dragon, but there never seemed like there was any other way to do it. I only wish Kilgarrah could have seen past his hatred and left the city in peace."

Arthur held Merlin, letting them sit in silence for a while, soaking up the new information. He still had one other question to ask Merlin. He was afraid of the reaction it would cause, but, still, he felt that he needed to know. He didn't want there to be any more secrets between the two of them. "You said the dragon lord, Balinor, was your father. How long did you know? I thought you told me you didn't know who your father was?"

Merlin remained silent for a second, then took a deep breath and said, "I didn't know who my father was until Gaius told me, right before we rode out to look for Balinor. My mother didn't want me to know, she thought it would only put me in more danger. Balinor didn't know he had a son either. I told him after he agreed to come with us. I had a father for a day. I didn't know who my father was when I said that to you, I never lied to you if I could avoid it."

Arthur pulled Merlin closer to him. He felt bad for ever doubting him, but he needed to know what had really happened. "I'm sorry, Merlin. I guess that explains why you were acting so strange then. And I told you no man was worth your tears! Gods, I'm so sorry. He was a good man."

"He was. I just wish I had a chance to know him better. There was so much he could have taught me. And I'm sorry about what happened to Uther. Even though I don't agree with many of the choices he made, he was still a good king. He cared about his people. And he loved you, Arthur. He was always so proud of you."

"I hope so. Sometimes I wonder what he would think if he knew what I am doing. He spent so long fighting against magic, and here I am, in love with a warlock. But, I know I made the right choice. Thank you, Merlin, for saying that. I know it can't be easy for you, after everything he did, but he was my father, and I am glad you do not hate him."

"He is part of you, Arthur. And I love you. All of you. There is no way I could hate him."

Arthur and Merlin stayed curled up together for quite a while, holding each other while they let the pain from their pasts overcome them. It wasn't as bad as it had been before though, as this time they were no longer alone.

* * *

Everything stayed about the same for a few weeks. The knights would sneak into the city, bringing back food, supplies, information, and new recruits. The abandoned castle was quickly filling up with people who had lost so much when Morgana took over. While the knights went into town, Arthur would train the new members of the rebellion. Merlin's shoulders were recovering, so he would spend his days out with Gwen gathering firewood, herbs, and whatever fruits or vegetables they could find. Every night, the knights, Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, and Gaius would meet at the round table to discuss their plans. Merlin hated to admit it, but no matter how many people the knights brought back from the city, there was no way they were going to be able to fight Morgana's trained army, especially as so many of her soldiers had magic. And even though Arthur was a good teacher, the people who were joining them were merely commoners, and would not be able to fight soldiers on their own. Merlin hated to admit it, but they needed outside help. When Merlin voiced this opinion at one of their nightly meetings, Lancelot said, "You're right Merlin, but who can we go to? Who would help us?"

Merlin had been thinking about this as well, and he had an answer ready for this question. "While I was serving Morgana, she invited many of the nobles from the surrounding kingdoms, trying to get them to ally with her. Some did come, but most of the kingdoms that had alliances with Uther didn't show up, and I know she asked them, I was there when she sent out the letters. One of them might send help, if Arthur asks."

"That's not a bad idea, Merlin." Arthur responded. "We are not far from the lands of Nemeth, Merlin and I will travel there tomorrow, and try to gain their support."

Everyone gathered around the table agreed with Arthur's suggestion. With this plan in mind, they decided Lancelot and Leon would stop sneaking into the city, taking Arthur's job of training the men. Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan would continue to go into the city, possibly taking some of the more well-trained recruits with them. Hopefully Arthur and Merlin would return soon, bringing enough support that they would be able to attack the city, and Arthur could finally win his kingdom back.

With all of this decided, they called it a night, and went to sleep, Arthur and Merlin trying to get as much rest as possible before the long trip they would embark on in the morning.


	12. Chapter 11: The Alliance

**I'm Back!**

**Hey guys, I am so sorry about the long wait, but here, finally is chapter 11. I am hoping to be able to finish this fic before I leave for the coast this saturday, so we will see how that goes. This means that I am going to have to go back to updating once a day again, as there are four more chapters and an epilogue. **

**Thank you so much to everyone who sent good wishes for my trip! It was a lot of fun, but slightly exhausting. I guess that makes sense, as I was monitoring high school students and working with habitat for humanity. I was sleeping for most of yesterday, which made this chapter take a little longer than it probably should have, especially with its length. **

**Thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing, alerting, favoriting, or whatever else you do! I hope you don't mind the character from season four I used in this chapter, or the fact I decided her father was secretly prince Eric from the little mermaid. Which might possibly make Ariel her mother. Just don't think about it too much.**

**And, of course, I don't own Merlin. If I did, the romance would be much cheesier, the battles much gory-er, and the clothes Gwaine wears much more revealing.**

Chapter 11: The Alliance

Merlin missed horses. Well, he didn't miss having to clean there stables, but they were incredibly useful when you had to get from one place to another. Even though they left at the brink of dawn both days and didn't stop until it was too dark to see where they were going, Nemeth was still two day's journey from the castle. It also didn't help that there weren't really any roads leading to or from the abandoned castle, so they had to hack their way through the undergrowth, battling with branches and brambles for much of their journey.

Nemeth was near the sea. The castle was beautiful in a very different way from Camelot's castle. Where Camelot's towering ramparts and large expanse caused the viewer to be almost overwhelmed by its majesty, Nemeth was smaller, positioned near a cliff, overlooking the roaring ocean. The castle was slightly darker than the bright white walls of Camelot's castle, but that did not detract from the beauty. It just made the citadel look slightly older and almost worn from battling the elements that would be much harsher in this part of Albion. Arthur and Merlin had spent the second night camped out about a mile away from the main entrance to the castle, wanting to wait until sunrise to enter.

* * *

It was strange for Arthur, entering a kingdom that had been friendly with Camelot, without his fully entourage and trumpets announcing his presence. He hoped King Eric would recognize him, as he currently had no way of proving who he was. He also felt slightly shameful, approaching another king for help. The Pendragon's had always been proud, strong men and reaching out to others for support never came easily to them, but Arthur knew he had no other choice. His people needed his help, and he would not be able save them on his own.

They entered the gates without any problems. The road into the main town was filled with merchants bringing their wares into the city to sell and servants making their way to the castle for another days work so Arthur and Merlin blended in nicely, as they were both wearing clothes Gwaine had stolen from the laundry of one of Morgana's men, instead of the long cloaks and glistening chainmail Arthur had been used to. They were unhindered until they reached the entrance to the castle, where a pair of guards stopped them and the taller of the pair asked, "Who are you and what business do you have in the court of Nemeth?"

Arthur stood as tall as he could, hoping to look as regal as possible in the stolen garments, as he replied, "I am Arthur Pendragon, and this is my servant Merlin." They had decided earlier it would probably be best if they didn't announce their real relationship quite yet, as Arthur wasn't sure how King Eric would react to this news. "I wish to speak with King Eric. I bring news of his allies in Camelot."

The guards shared a slightly skeptical look, before one of them stopped a servant heading into the castle and told them to alert the king to Arthur's presence. Arthur didn't know exactly what he had expected to happen, but it was definitely not what ended up occurring. So, he was taken thoroughly by surprise when King Eric came rushing out of the castle, followed by a group of flustered servants and guards trying to keep up with their king.

King Eric had, in a manner similar to Uther, the appearance of a very strong man who had gone slightly to seed. His once dark brown locks were now streaked with grey, and his clear blue eyes were surrounded by the wrinkles that were beginning to spread across his tanned skin. Just like his castle, he had a slightly weathered look, as if he had led the charge against the elements that his kingdom was constantly at war with.

"Arthur Pendragon!" King Eric called out as he rushed down the stairs to embrace Arthur, "I heard that you and your father were dead! It seems I need to be more careful about where I get my news from."

"You were not completely misinformed. King Uther is indeed dead." Arthur said with a frown, trying to keep the pain hidden from his voice.

"I am sorry to hear that, Arthur." King Eric replied, "Even though we didn't always see eye to eye, Uther was a good friend, especially after I lost my wife. But what has brought you here? And what happened in your kingdom? We received a message from the Lady Morgana a few months ago, inviting us to a celebration of her new position as Queen of Camelot. How is that possible if you are still alive?"

"Morgana has changed much since you last saw her. She took the kingdom with force. A few years ago, Morgana started to show signs of magic. She befriended a sorceress named Morgause, her half-sister, and together they plotted to take Camelot from the Pendragons, create a new magic-friendly kingdom, and make sure my father and I paid for our crimes against those who poses magic. Although her first attempt failed, it left my father heartbroken, and the kingdom weak as we tried to rebuild from the destruction she caused. When she attacked a second time, she was successful, and my father was killed. I was able to escape with the help of Merlin here, and some of my most loyal knights, but she still holds the throne, and the people suffer as she has been twisted by hatred and cannot see that what she does hurts those who depend on her. I wish to protect my people, but I cannot do this on my own. Many of the people of Camelot have joined me, wishing to end her reign, but they are untrained, and against her army of magic users they stand no chance. My kingdom needs help. I remembered your friendship with my family, and hoped you could assist me in this, Camelot's hour of need. If you would, I promise, the disputed lands of Gedref would be yours. It would be the least I could do for the support your armies could give me." Arthur hoped that short description of events would be enough to satisfy the other king, and that he would understand just how desperately Arthur needed his help.

King Eric's expression had grown colder as he listened to Arthur's story. He looked quiet angry when Arthur was finished speaking, but Arthur could tell that anger was not directed at him. Eric was well-loved by his people, so it was understandable that a ruler neglecting their duties would anger him. After a brief moment of silence, he said, "I am truly sorry to hear this, Arthur. Why don't you come inside? We can discuss this matter more thoroughly in the comfort of my castle."

* * *

Merlin followed Arthur and King Eric into the castle, joining the group of servants who had accompanied the other king. Once they were inside, King Eric led them to a room similar to the council chambers in Camelot. He then moved to sit at the head of the table, and gestured to his right, indicating that Arthur should sit next to him.

"Arthur," Eric said slowly, "I am sympathetic with your plight, but you must understand that I will not send my men to certain death. You said Morgana has an army of magic users, how could normal soldiers stand against her? In her letter, she said something about Emrys, the warlock of the druidic prophecies. If I remember correctly, she implied that he was in her service. I wish there was something I could do, but against a power like that my men would not stand a chance. I wish things were different, Arthur, but surely you understand."

Merlin watched as Arthur nodded silently. On their journey they had discussed what details would be best left out in their talks with the other king, but they had not expected this. Merlin had only seen Morgana sending the letters, he had not been privy to what was written in them. And if Eric knew the prophecies of Emrys, and believed that Morgana had his support, it was no wonder he would be cautious about taking arms against her. It was clear that Arthur had no idea what to say about this new development, so Merlin decided to speak for him, and hope that his stepping forward did not threaten their plans.

"Emrys never truly served Morgana." Merlin said, causing Eric's eyes to jump from Arthur to him, a look of surprise on his face. "If you know the stories the druids tell of Emrys, you will also know that he serves only one, the Once and Future King. Morgana held him against his will, forcing him to serve her by threatening the ones he cared for most. But, he escaped, and has joined with the one he was destined to serve. Arthur is the only person who will ever have the allegiance of Emrys."

When he finished speaking, Merlin turned his eyes to the ground, praying that Eric would believe him. Even though he was still focused on the floor beneath his feet, Merlin could tell that Eric's eyes had not left him since he began talking.

"Arthur said you are his servant, Merlin, correct?" Eric asked. Merlin nodded with a quiet, "Yes, sire." Before Eric continued, "How would a simple servant know so much about the mythical Emrys? Who are you, really?"

Merlin sighed. It seemed there would be no way around telling Eric the truth. He supposed it would probably get slightly suspicious if he agreed to help Arthur, and ended up meeting Kilgarrah before the battle. Arthur had tensed in front of him, but had not spoken up yet, letting Merlin make the decision himself. Merlin took a deep breath, looked Eric directly in the eyes, and said, "My mother named me Merlin, but every druid I have met has called me Emrys, and the Great Dragon spoke to me of my destiny. I don't mean to brag, but I am powerful, though slightly untrained, and I serve Arthur alone. If you need further proof I can summon the Great Dragon, he will tell you of my fate and power, or I can demonstrate some of my skills. I know I don't look like much, but you must understand, I am telling the truth."

Merlin held Eric's gaze, hoping that this king did not share Uther's views on magic. Arthur had told him they had rarely spoke of it, and he was pretty sure Eric's late wife had relatives who practiced magic, possibly making him more inclined towards the art. After a very tense moment Eric turned back to Arthur and said, "Arthur, am I to believe you have sought a magical ally? I was under the impression you shared your father's views on the practice of magic?"

Merlin was filled with pride as Arthur replied, "I used to believe my father was correct, and that magic could only be used for evil, but Merlin showed me otherwise. He protected me, and my father, even at risk to his own life. Through his countless acts he has proved to me that magic can be a force for good. My father was blinded by his sorrow after the death of my mother, but I am able to see with unclouded eyes. It took me a while to fully accept magic, but I came to realize that most of the cases in which I had seen magic used for dark purposes was in acts of revenge against a kingdom that had killed friends and family without just cause. I hope, with Merlin's help, I can return magic to the land, and that you can understand my shift in views on the subject."

Eric smiled warmly at them both before he replied, "I am glad you have been able to see past the wrongs that stopped your father from understanding the wonders of magic. Although she had no powers herself, my wife came from a kingdom where magic was prevalent, and I learned much about its potential for good from her. I never shared the position your father had against magic, and I can only support your decision to accept it. Now, Arthur, do you think I could speak to you about this proposed alliance alone? My servants could show Merlin to a room you could use while you are here."

Arthur looked at Merlin, and Merlin could tell he didn't want him to leave, but knew they needed to do anything they could to ensure that Eric would support their efforts. So, Merlin just smiled at Arthur, giving a last encouraging look before he followed the rest of the servants out of the room.

Eric's servants led Merlin to a large room with a window overlooking the sea. It was slightly smaller than Arthur's room back in Camelot, but had a vaguely similar design. They had showed him the smaller servants quarters located just next to the guest chambers before they left him alone in the bigger room. As soon as he was alone, Merlin jumped onto the bed. It had been so long since he had experienced such comfort. He felt slightly guilty, as he was probably getting the beautiful, blue bedspread quite dirty, but he couldn't really bring himself to care. After spending quite some time lounging on the luxurious bed, Merlin decided to explore the room. The view out the window was simply stunning, he could see the waves crashing against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff the castle was located on, and if he leaned his head out slightly, he could look down the rocky expanse to where the rocks became fine, white sand. He wondered if sometime, during their trip here, he and Arthur would be able to sit on that beach, feel the sand beneath their toes and the spray on their face as they gazed out over the vast expanse of water. Merlin was pulled from his daydreaming when the door was opened by a servant, allowing Arthur into the chambers. Merlin noticed immediately that Arthur was much paler than he had been when Merlin left, and looked vaguely sick. Merlin rushed to his side, and guided him over to the bed, while asking, "What's the matter Arthur? Is he not going to help us?"

"No," Arthur said, as Merlin sat him down on the bed. "He will help us, but he doesn't want the lands of Gedref."

"Well, that's good news, isn't it? Why do you look so worried? What did he say after I left?" Merlin said quickly. He was starting to panic, but he tried to remain calm for Arthur's sake. Arthur looked so lost, as he turned his gaze to Merlin and said, "He will send his armies, but only if I agree to unite our families. Merlin, he wants me to marry his daughter, Princess Mithian."


	13. Chapter 12: Love or Duty?

**AN: Well, so far so good! Got another chapter done in a day! Yay!**

**To be honest, this chapter was pretty easy to write. It also isn't very long. The next chapter should be interesting...**

**If anything is going to take more than a day, it will be chapter thirteen, just as a warning. But, I will try my best! I have some ideas, hopefully they will work.**

**Thanks to everyone for reading and stuff! I am getting lazy and there are a lot of words to write. **

**But, in a brief bit of blackmail, the one thing that really will help me finish this before I leave for the coast is reviews! I will try my best either way, but hearing from readers is awesome, and it inspires me to write more! So, if you don't want another week long break, reviewing might help :) sorry. blackmailing is kind of mean.**

**Anyhoo, I don't own Merlin. Or any characters from Disney. Although I wouldn't mind my own Pascal. He is pretty adorable.**

Chapter 12: Love or Duty?

"What?" Merlin said, trying to keep from yelling out in surprise.

"He said that he knew all the prophecies about the Once and Future King. He believes I will unite Albion, and he wishes to secure his daughter's future in the kingdom I will create. And, as we are both single royals, there is no reason for me to object to the match." Arthur said in a monotone. He still looked lost and confused, and his eyes kept darting around there chambers, as if he was searching for a way to escape.

"But you're not single." Merlin murmured, sitting down next to Arthur.

"King Eric doesn't know that, though." Arthur said, leaning against Merlin's shoulder.

"What did you say?" Merlin asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"I told him it was a very generous offer, but I would need to speak to the princess before I made a decision. He seemed happy to agree to that."

"What are we going to do?" Merlin whispered. He now understood Arthur's dazed look. They needed the help Eric would give them, but picturing Arthur with another hurt Merlin more than he cared to admit. He had only just gotten to be with Arthur, would fate take away his happiness so soon?

"I don't know, Merlin. I love you. How can I be with anyone else? But my people need me, and I need an army, which Eric is willing to provide."

"Well," Merlin said, trying to sound okay with what he was saying, and hide the pain he really felt, "maybe this is for the best. Camelot would need a queen, anyways, and I could never fill that role. And this Princess Mithian will be able to give you something I never could, an heir. And I could still be your servant; I would never leave you, Arthur."

"But I don't want a queen, or an heir." Arthur said, the pain in his voice evident, "I want you, Merlin. Why does being king mean I can't be with the one I love?"

Merlin didn't know how to respond to this. He wanted to be with Arthur more than anything he had ever wanted before. These past few weeks had been some of the best of his life, and the thought of giving that up made him feel like he would lose part of himself as well. But, somewhere deep down he realized that he had always known that something like this would have to happen at some point. No kingdom could have two kings, no matter how in love they were.

"We will always be together, Arthur, even if we can't be open about our relationship. But your people need you. I wish there was another way. I wish that so much, but we don't have the time to seek help elsewhere, and even if we did, there is a large chance whoever else we asked would react the same way King Eric did, if not worse. We have to try, for Gwen and Lancelot, for Gaius and the knights, for all the people who are starving because Morgana continues to raise taxes and ignore her duties. Just know that I will always love you, no matter what."

Arthur nodded silently, then turned to Merlin saying, "Eric said I should rest after my journeys, he will not be expecting me back until the dinner he is arranging tonight where he will introduce Mithian to me. I am so sorry that this had to happen, but, like you said, we need his help. Whatever happens, never doubt that I love you, and that I will never stop loving you."

With that, Merlin turned and pulled his king into a kiss. It was soft and gentle, but desperate and demanding. Neither of them wanted to give this up. So, when Arthur pulled Merlin back onto the bed, he did not protest. He let his love gently caress him as they lay together, savoring each other's company, dreaming of a world in which they wouldn't have to hide their love to save the people who depended on them.

* * *

Arthur felt hollow as he was led down the banquet hall by one of the servants. Merlin was walking a few steps behind him, keeping silent as they headed towards the room in which Arthur would meet the woman who was to be his wife. He couldn't help but cringe when he thought of that word, _wife_. He wanted to reach back, grab Merlin's hand, and never let go, but he knew that would be unacceptable in their current situation. He just needed to remember his duty, the promises he had made when his father made him crown prince. He had to put Camelot's best interests before his own, no matter how much it pained him to do so.

When the servant leading them stopped, opening the door in front of them, Arthur was greeted by King Eric's booming voice.

"Arthur!" He said happily, unaware of the sadness Arthur was trying to disguise, "I hope you had a good rest! I would like to introduce you to my lovely daughter, Princess Mithian."

With that he gestured to the woman standing to his right. Arthur turned his gaze to her, inspecting the woman he would have to marry to save his kingdom. She was beautiful, there was no denying that. Her brown hair was pulled back in a long braid, with strands of golden thread twisted in among her locks. She was pale, and her white dress exaggerated this fact, and brought his eyes back up to her face. She had deep brown eyes, and looked as if she knew more than she was letting on. Her expression gave the same impression, as if, even though she was a lady and probably didn't get much of a chance to speak up in the courts, she had ways of controlling what happened around her. Her pink lips curved delicately into a pleasant smile that was directed at Arthur. Unlike Merlin she didn't look long and gangly, but strong despite her gently curving body. Arthur wondered if there was some time when he would have been completely besotted by her beauty, some time before Merlin, before he learned what true beauty was. He pushed the thoughts from his mind, trying to focus on the situation, and said, "It is wonderful to meet you, my lady. You look absolutely radiant."

He hoped she hadn't noticed the underlying depression in his voice, as he spoke with her. He tried to keep a smile on his face, and stop himself from speaking in a monotone. Merlin stayed stationed behind him, serving him like he always had, the only difference was that he was completely silent, the only signs that he was anything more than a servant were the way he would take slightly longer than necessary to fill Arthur's cup and his hands brushing, in a way that appeared accidental, across Arthur's arms and shoulders.

* * *

The next few days were very similar. Arthur would spend most of his time with the princess, getting to know her before they married. She was kind, loved hunting, and was an incredible horse-woman, but Arthur was still miserable. Once, he caught himself wishing he had never fallen in love with Merlin, because Mithian probably could have made him happy if his heart did not already belong to another. The time he wasn't with Mithian he either spent with King Eric discussing plans for the attack, or with Merlin, grasping desperately at each other in the brief moments they shared alone. On the fourth day of this, Arthur was accompanying Mithian on a picnic. Merlin had ridden after them with the other servants, keeping his distance from the couple. When they had finally found the perfect place to eat, and Arthur and Mithian had settled down on the blanket one of the servants had laid out for them, Arthur began daydreaming, watching Merlin help the other servants prepare the food they had brought with them. He didn't notice Mithian's gaze on him, as she watched his eyes lazing follow the movements of his true love.

"You love him, don't you?" Mithian asked, pulling Arthur from his daydreaming.

"What!" Arthur exclaimed. Fear pooled in his stomach, as the part of him that knew his kingdom needed Eric's help worried about Mithian's discovery. The part of him that wanted to run to Merlin's side wanted to yell out yes, show the world just how much he loved the skinny, pale, warlock.

"You're a beautiful man, Arthur. And you are kind, and I wish I had a chance at holding your heart. But I don't, I can see that now. I watched the way you two look at each other. It is obvious you love each other very much. Why are you trying to be with me if you have him?"

Arthur sighed. He thought about trying to deny Mithian's claim, but it had been so hard to keep his feelings secret, and he longed to be open about his relationship once more. Plus she sounded pretty certain about what she had seen, and Arthur would only feel incredibly guilty if he tried to lie to her about his feelings.

"I do this for my people, Mithian. They need my help, but I cannot protect them on my own. I am truly sorry I tried to deceive you. You are a wonderful woman, and any kingdom would be blessed to have you as a queen. But, you are correct. My heart will always belong to another."

"Then go to him." Mithian said. "I will speak to my father. You care for your people, Arthur Pendragon, and my father has taught me how important that is, but you should not be forced to choose between their happiness and your own. Maybe someday, I will meet a man who will love me as much as you love him, but it will not be you. Thank you for being kind to me, Arthur, for that I will do everything I can to make sure my father sees sense."

Arthur was dumbstruck as Mithian got up, abandoning their picnic, calling her servants back to the city. Merlin walked over to Arthur when they were both alone, with a very confused look, and asked, "What just happened?"

"She said she would speak to her father for me." Arthur said, still thinking over all she had said. "She figured out that I didn't really love her."

Merlin frowned, saying, "So does that mean we will have to find some other king to help us defeat Morgana?"

"I'm not sure." Arthur replied, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "She told me I shouldn't have to choose between the happiness of my people and my own happiness. I think she means to ask her father to help us without me marrying her!"

"Really!" Merlin yelled, "That's wonderf-" Merlin was cut off when Arthur pulled him down onto the blanket, and silenced him with his lips. They stayed together for quite some time before Arthur pulled back and said, "Well, I think we should give her some time to speak with her father, and we do have all these supplies for a picnic, we probably shouldn't let them go to waste, right, Merlin?"

"Of course not, Sire. I'd hate to have to lug all that delicious food back to the castle after they worked so hard preparing such a splendid lunch." Merlin replied with a smile. They laughed and never stopped smiling as they ate the food that had been intended for Arthur and Mithian, trying not to think about what would happen if Mithian could not convince her father to help them.

* * *

They had stayed out of the city for longer than was probably necessary before Arthur decided that they should probably head back. Merlin quickly packed up the supplies while Arthur readied the horses, and soon they were on their way back to the city, hoping that luck would be on their side.

When they reached the gates, a guard greeted them and told them the King wished to speak with them in the throne room. Arthur and Merlin had gotten to know the castle over the past few days, so after handing the reigns of their horses to a stable boy, they headed to the throne room on their own, not needing a servant to show them the way. When they reached the room they had been sent to, they were ushered in by the guards watching the doors. Eric was standing in front of his throne when they entered, Mithian to his right, a pleased smile spreading across her delicate features.

"Arthur," Eric said, a kind look on his face, "my daughter is very wise, and she saw something I missed. I am sorry I put you in a position where you would have to sacrifice your own happiness for your people. I loved my wife very much, and I hoped you would be able to love my daughter the same way I loved her mother. She saw that this would never be true, but that your heart was truly in the right place. I offer you my army. We will fight for you and your people Arthur, and I require nothing in return, besides your promise that in the future you will aide my kingdom and my daughter in their times of need."

Arthur could not stop the huge grin spreading across his face. "Thank you so much, Eric. And I promise, whatever help I can give you in the future, you need only ask. You will always have an ally in Camelot as soon as I am returned to my rightful place."

"From what my daughter tells me, you will make quite the king, Arthur Pendragon, your people are lucky to have you. Now, I think we have some planning to do to make sure your people get the king they deserve."

Arthur, Merlin, King Eric, and some of Eric's best knights spent most of the afternoon discussing strategy. In the end, they decided it would be best if they could attack Morgana on as many fronts as possible. If Arthur and Eric led his knights in a head on charge, the round table knights could led the people of Camelot underneath the castle through the tunnels they had used to escape, and Merlin could take Kilgarrah and attack from above. If this worked, Morgana would have to defend her walls while being attacked from within and fighting a dragon above. Arthur knew from his own experience that fighting the dragon was a near impossible task. This way, the only advantage Morgana would have would be the large number of magic users in her troops. The only magic user on Arthur's side was Merlin, but he would have to hope this was enough, as there were very few magic users who would join with a Pendragon, even if he was planning on changing his father's laws.

When they finished talking it was already quite late, so Arthur and Merlin headed back up to their temporary rooms. In the morning, Merlin would call Kilgarrah, and they would go ahead of Eric to tell the others of their plans. Arthur had given Eric detailed instructions of how to find the castle, and Eric had promised to bring an extra horse so Arthur would be able to ride with them when they attacked. So they slept, resting in preparation for the busy day that was ahead of them, savoring the luxury of a bed, knowing it shouldn't be too long before they had this comfort again, if everything went according to their plans.


	14. Chapter 13: The Battle for Camelot

**AN: OH MY GOD! I did it! Yay! **

**So, now that chapter thirteen is done, it should be pretty much smooth sailing for me at least. **

**I think I should be able to finish before I leave. **

**Oh, and one quick thing. Loves the Supernatural sent me a very nice review, and in this review they asked a very good question. I sent them a message, but thought it would be good to let all of my readers know the answer, just in case anyone else was wondering about this. They wanted to know why Merlin didn't try to recruit any of his magical allies (like Alator and the Cather, or Iseldir and the Druids). I did think about this a lot, there was quite a long period of time where Iseldir was going to fight with them, but I decided against it. The Cather can't fight with Merlin simply as neither of them really know of the others existance yet, as this fic is set i in between season's three and four. And I decided I didn't want the Druids fighting, as they are a peaceful people, and Morgana made such a big deal about them going evil at the start of this story. So, that was my reasoning. I think I managed to pull it off without their help, hopefully this battle isn't too far fetched. Also, I have said it before and will say it again, I SUCK at writing battles. There is just way too much going on, so I apologize, I hope you can understand this chapter. If you have any questions, please review or message me and I will try my best to address them :)**

**Anyhoo, Thanks so much to everyone who read, reviewed (even after my strange AN last time :/), favorited, and alerted. It is really thanks to all of you that this chapter actually got finished today! You are my motivation!**

**And, I don't own Merlin. And I have nothing witty to say here. Maybe I will add something when my brain isn't fried from writing fighting. **

Chapter Thirteen: The Battle for Camelot

Arthur and Merlin left early the next morning. Eric and a good number of his knights would follow on horseback as soon as they finished making their final preparations for battle. Eric had accompanied them out to a nearby field where the dragon would be able to land without many noticing. Eric had been curious to meet the great beast, and the dragon did not disappoint him. After one of the dragon's usual rants about destiny and duty, they bid the king farewell and climbed onto the dragon's back. The trip was much swifter flying than it had been on foot. They reached the usually abandoned castle by mid afternoon, frightening many of the people who had gathered there. Arthur couldn't really blame them, he was just starting to get used to the dragon as an ally. Memories of the destruction he had caused were still fresh in the people of Camelot's memories. But, if they wanted to win this fight, they would need the dragon's power, so the people would have to get used to the mighty beast.

Guinevere had nearly tackled them when they disembarked, Lancelot not far behind. The rest of the knights had not yet arrived back from their daily trips to Camelot, so they decided to wait to tell the story of their trip until everyone was back. When the four men had returned, Arthur gathered his people just outside the castle. The dragon had remained near, knowing that it wouldn't be long until they required him again, and was watching from the forest as Arthur spoke to the people who had risked much to help him fight.

"People of Camelot!" Arthur yelled out, "Do not forget who you are! We may have been forced from our homes and the land that once was ours, but soon we will return! Morgana is not fit to rule. She does not think of the kingdom, only herself and those close to her. I will not let the people whose safety I was entrusted with suffer under her bitterness any longer! But I cannot do this on my own. I need your support, your trust, and your strength in order to free our kingdom from her tyranny! It will be dangerous. I do not want to force any of you into a battle you are not ready for. But know if you do choose to fight with me, you will not fight alone! The knights of Nemeth march to our aid! Not only will we be joined by King Eric's army, but the Great Dragon and the mighty sorcerer Emrys fight alongside us also! Together, we will defeat Morgana, and we will bring peace and prosperity to our homeland. In two days time, the armies of Nemeth will arrive. Those of you who wish to fight for our kingdom will accompany my friends, Sirs Leon, Percival, Lancelot, Gwaine, and Elyan through the siege tunnels, leading an attack on Morgana from within, while I accompany Eric and his forces in a direct attack on the gates. The Great Dragon and Emrys will attack from the sky, attacking Morgana on a third front. I know the Great Dragon has hurt many of you in the past, but he has sworn that he will not harm any but those who fight against us. If you wish to fight to see Camelot restored to its former glory, rest and prepare yourselves, for soon the day of battle will be upon us! I thank you all for your support through this difficult time, and I promise I will repay you in any way possible. All of you have shown such great bravery and strength, any man would be proud to lead you into battle. And remember, that when you fight, you do not fight for me, or even yourselves, you fight FOR CAMELOT!"

When Arthur finished the crowd that was gathered replied with a mighty cry of "FOR CAMELOT!" before cheering as loudly as possible for their king. The dragon let out a loud roar in the background, which Arthur was happy to see did not scare as many of the people as it probably would have before his speech. Merlin was grinning at him, his eyes gleaming. Arthur was surprised at the amount of excitement Merlin was radiating. He had always seemed like such a gentle person, to the point of disliking hunting as he thought it wasn't fair for the animals, so to see him so eager for battle seemed wrong. But, in a way, it did make sense. Arthur would be amazed if Merlin didn't hold a grudge against the people who had forced him to endure such pain for so long. Still, Arthur hoped Merlin would never look this excited for war again.

When the people started to disperse, Arthur headed back up to the round table, where he knew his closest friends would be waiting to hear the story of his trip and discuss their plans of attack.

* * *

The next few days were incredibly busy. They had split the resistance fighters into two groups, one that would go with Percival, Elyan, and Leon through the siege tunnels and attack Morgana from that direction and another that would be lead by Gwaine and Lancelot and would use the tunnels they had escaped through. They had decided it would be best if they attacked at night, so they could maintain the element of surprise, at least on one front. Nemeth's soldiers would be hard to hide, so they planned on leading the first attack, so Morgana would be distracted when the rest of the fighters flooded the castle from below. Merlin would come last, with Kilgarrah, striking when it would be too late for Morgana to figure out any way to defend against a dragon, as she would be too busy with the other two armies.

Arthur and the knights had spent the two days before the attack with some last minute training and trying to find as many weapons they could. Gwen and Elyan had made as many swords as possible with the limited time and supplies, using the skills they had learned from their father, but they still had more fighters than weapons. In the end, when Arthur saw one man fighting with a frying pan, he tried not to worry about the weapon situation, and focus on how dedicated his people were.

Merlin spent most of his time with the Dragon. This made Arthur slightly disappointed, as he was used to having Merlin watch him while he trained, and missed having him around. But, with the way Merlin talked every time he returned to camp, he was learning more from the Dragon than any book could have taught him, and he was much more confident about having to fight Morgana than he had been before. Apparently, being Emrys and a dragon lord did have its benefits.

So, when Eric and his army arrived at their growing camp, Arthur felt like he was ready, and he was quite confident that Morgana wouldn't be sitting on his throne for much longer.

* * *

Merlin had to admit he was worried. Kilgarrah had taught him a lot about the ancient magics he could control over the past few days, but he would still be fighting two powerful sorceresses, a terrifying young druid, as well as a small army of magic users that were incredibly loyal to Morgana and seemed to hate him quite a bit.

And he wasn't just worried for himself. What if he wasn't strong enough and one of his friends or, heavens forbid, Arthur was hurt in battle? He didn't know if he would be able to live with himself. He was lost in his dark thoughts when he felt strong arms creeping around him.

"You worry too much Merlin. Your forehead is going to get all wrinkly if you hold that expression for too much longer." Arthur whispered into his ear.

"You'd love me anyways." Merlin said with a chuckle, "Wrinkly forehead and all."

"Yes." Arthur said, his voice serious. "And one day, when we are both old men, living in the castle I was born in, I will trace every wrinkle running across your face. And I will love as much as I do now."

"If we make it that long." Merlin whispered, voicing some of his worries.

It seemed Arthur might have expected this answer, as he turned Merlin around so they were facing each other and said, "We will. That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Merlin. When we fight, I don't want you to risk your own life to protect me, or anyone else. I don't think I could live without you. Please, promise me you won't do anything stupid and get yourself hurt."

Arthur was staring directly into Merlin's eyes. Merlin was speechless, lost in the depths of his love's beautiful blue eyes. After a moment, he blinked, thinking about what the prince had asked. He would always put Arthur's life before his own. Ever since he had been offered the cup poisoned by Nimueh, he had known that Arthur's life was much more important than his own, and that he would do anything if it meant Arthur would be safe. Could he really promise that he wouldn't do everything in his power to protect his prince, even if that meant risking his own safety? Arthur seemed to notice his indecision, and he sighed, dropping his gaze for a second before it returned with even greater intensity than before and he said, "Nothing bad is going to happen. We are both going to make it out of this. I promise. But in order for me to keep that promise I need to have your word that you won't put yourself in unnecessary danger. Please, Merlin, I need to know that you will be ok."

Merlin could see he wasn't getting out of this without making this promise, so he returned Arthur's gaze and said, "Alright, Arthur, I promise."

Arthur nodded, pulling him into a tight hug before saying, "I have to go and make final preparations with Eric. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Merlin responded, "Kiss for good luck?"

Arthur just laughed at Merlin's shy request before he pulled him into what Merlin feared would be their last kiss.

* * *

A few hours later, the sun had set and Eric's men were ready to ride into battle. The people of Camelot were wearing a strange assortment of armor and carried their mismatched weapons as they gathered into their two groups, lead by the knights. Merlin stood over to one side with Kilgarrah and Gaius. Arthur rode the horse Eric had brought for him to the center, and called out in one final attempt to rally his men before battle, "You know what you fight for. Together, we have the power to return Camelot to those who deserve it! Morgana thinks that the power lies in the title, tonight we will show her how wrong she is! The power of a kingdom lies in its people! Tonight, we fight together, for a fair and just kingdom! Tonight we fight for the love of Camelot!"

The armies responded with shouts and cheers, all of them ready to ride into battle. With the noise raising his spirits and urging him onwards, Arthur turned his horse and led Eric's soldiers through the woods, towards the castle. Once all the horse had left the camp, the knights lead the people of Camelot away from Merlin and Gaius. Soon, there were only a few left in the camp. Even though Lancelot had told Gwen to stay behind, she had acted as Merlin knew she would, and had followed Lancelot's group away from the safety of the castle. Pretty much everyone who had been living in or around the castle had gone to Camelot, leaving only a few family members of the people who had gone to fight remaining, most of them small children or people around Gaius' age. Merlin turned to his mentor and pulled him into a hug before saying, "Thank you for everything, Gaius. I don't know how I would have been able to survive the past months without you."

"Merlin, my boy," Gaius said fondly, "I should be thanking you. You kept me safe. Be careful tonight. You always do know just how to strain my heart."

Merlin smiled sadly and said, "I will do my best. And I will see you again, once Camelot has its rightful king."

Gaius patted his shoulder and said, "You have grown so much since you walked into my chambers all those years ago, but you still have the same good heart. If anyone can win this battle, it is you." With that the old man turned back to the castle, and Merlin walked over to where Kilgarrah was waiting.

"Are you ready?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, young warlock. And do not worry so. Your destiny does not end this night." The Dragon replied in his usual cryptic way.

Merlin laughed quietly and said, "You never could just say things clearly could you?" before he climbed up onto the Dragon's back, grabbing onto his neck as Kilgarrah took off.

Merlin loved flying. He wondered if that was in his blood, as the son of a long line of dragon lords. Flying was so freeing. From way up here, anything seemed possible. It was as if his worries weren't able to follow him up through the atmosphere, remaining trapped below while he soared through the skies.

It wasn't until they neared Camelot and Merlin started to hear the sounds of distant fighting that fear spread through him again. Those noises would mean Arthur's group would have attacked already and, knowing his prince, Arthur would have led the charge. Merlin prayed to any gods that would listen that he was alright. Kilgarrah hovered over the city for a moment longer, the only light from the town below them. They had been lucky, the weather had decided to side with them and there was a thick layer of clouds hanging in the sky, making it even darker and giving the knights a better chance of getting in undetected.

When Merlin decided they had waited long enough, he leaned forward and shouted, "Let's go, Kilgarrah!" hoping the Dragon could hear him over the wind rushing around them.

It seemed he had as soon they were diving towards the city beneath them, Merlin clinging on to Kilgarrah's neck as tight as he could to keep from slipping to his death. Soon they could make out the individual people fighting beneath them. Morgana's soldiers wore black uniforms while Eric's men wore white and blue, making them easy to tell apart. The people from Camelot were slightly more difficult to discern as they were wearing whatever protection they could find, but their ragtag appearance also made them distinguishable from the rest.

When Kilgarrah was close enough, he let out a huge blast of bright flames, momentarily illuminating the street he had chosen to attack. The group of Morgana's soldiers he had targeted had to scatter or burn, forcing many of them onto the swords of Arthur's fighters. Merlin tried to fire as many spells down from the Dragon's back as he could, but it was difficult to aim while simultaneously clinging to Kilgarrah as the Dragon sped along the streets causing panic in Morgana's forces. Merlin wanted to join the fight, so he called to Kilgarrah over the sounds of battle, "Kilgarrah, I can't fight from up here, can you take me to Morgana?"

Kilgarrah answered with a roar, flying up slightly to scan the battle going on below them. It seemed the largest number of Morgana's soldiers were gathered in the courtyard, so Morgana would most likely either be there or still in the castle. Kilgarrah changed directions, moving towards this group, but staying low enough that he could still burn as many of the soldiers dressed in black as possible.

When they reached the courtyard, Kilgarrah landed, scattering the soldiers. Merlin was pretty certain he saw a flash of curly blonde hair in the mix, which was a good sign. Morgause would stay with Morgana, so if she was here, her half sister couldn't be far. Merlin quickly jumped off Kilgarrah, who was breathing fire at one of the groups of soldiers, forcing them to retreat further. Merlin looked around at the soldiers who were waiting in the streets just off the courtyard, trying to figure out how to fight a dragon with their small swords. It wasn't long till he found what he was looking for. Morgana was standing behind a row of knights with her sister, glaring at Kilgarrah. Merlin turned to the Dragon, giving him one last order before he turned to fight.

"Find Mordred!" Merlin shouted, "Make sure he doesn't get too close to Arthur!"

Kilgarrah nodded, then took off, leaving Merlin in the courtyard to face the two sorceresses. The Dragon got rid of many of the soldiers who had been there, evening the odds slightly.

"Hello Morgana," Merlin shouted out before the soldiers could make a move, "It's been a while."

"Not long enough." Morgana growled back, raising her hand in a move Merlin knew would probably blast him backwards, but before she could, Merlin used one of the spells the Dragon had taught him, making a large shield around him that would stop her magic, but would also keep him from attacking her directly. Merlin laughed as Morgana and Morgause fired every spell they could think of at the shimmering air around him, while the soldiers attacked the wall with their swords and spears.

"Not so easy to control me when you don't have anyone to threaten, hmm, Morgana?" Merlin said, delighting in the scowl that crossed her face when he spoke.

"You're still outnumbered." Morgana said, giving up her attack on his shield. "And even with your little prince, you won't be able to stop me. I will win, and then I'll kill Arthur. You will die tonight, Emrys, but Arthur will not be so lucky. He will die slowly and painfully, paying for all the times you defied me."

Merlin's eyes turned dark as he yelled, "You will never touch Arthur, or any of my friends, ever again!" Then he began to chant a spell he had learned from Kilgarrah. The shield was still surrounding him, so he had all the time he needed to recite the string of ancient words, making sure he pronounced each one perfectly. When he was finished, instead of turning his palm outwards towards his attackers, he slammed his hand down into the ground at his feet.

As he moved back into a standing position, Merlin could tell the spell had worked. The courtyard was cracked from where he had sent a wave of energy into the ground. The only bit that was still intact was the small circular area around him. Most of the soldiers had been tossed backwards, and quite a few looked as if they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Smiling at the success of his first plan, Merlin removed the shields and began chanting again. By the time he completed the spell, many of the enemy soldiers had approached him again, egged on by Morgana's endless yelling. Unfortunately for them, this put them in the perfect position for Merlin's spell, as a string of flames flew from his hands, encircling him then exploding outwards, burning and blasting back all it touched. Now, the courtyard was practically empty except for him, Morgana, and Morgause. There were still a few soldiers standing, looking nervously around them at their fallen comrades.

"Still sure you're going to win, Morgana?" Merlin taunted, feeling quite sure of himself after his early success. Morgana just smirked in response, confusing Merlin until he realized Morgause was no longer with her. Merlin spun around just in time to see that Morgause was now standing on the opposite corner than Morgana, and had just sent a ball of flames hurtling towards him. Merlin was able to raise one of the broken pieces of courtyard up in front of him just in time for the ball of flames to hit that instead of him. He had to turn his attention back to Morgana right away, so his back wouldn't be to her either, and saw that that had been smart as Morgana was currently conjuring winds to blow him back into his stone shield. He raised his hand just as she finished the spell, pushing against her magic with all the strength he could. He was pushed backwards a little, but remained standing as he felt his powers battle with Morgana's. Normally his would have won easily, but as she had had time to incant before she acted her spell had a stronger intent, it had actually formed into the winds that were currently surrounding him, while his power was raw, and almost scattered. Still, he could feel his magic slowly curling around and crushing her spell, allowing him to edge backwards towards the wall of the castle, so he could see both sisters without having to constantly turn around.

When he felt the safety of stone hit his back, Merlin curled the hand that was currently pointing at Morgana, open palmed, into a fist, ending her spell, leaving her looking disgruntled and afraid? Was it possible that Morgana was afraid of him?

Merlin felt something inside of him cringe. Even after all that had happened, he couldn't help but see his old friend every time he looked at Morgana. It hurt to think that she could fear him, and, at this moment, he realized that he wasn't sure he could kill her. He would, if he had to, to protect Arthur, but he still held onto the hope that the good, kind Morgana was still there, buried beneath her hatred and bitterness, so he took the momentary pause in fighting to yell out to her, praying that she would not force his hand.

"Morgana! I don't want to hurt you. We used to be friends, and I know much has happened since then, but I believe we could still be friends, if you stop trying to hurt those around you. Arthur has accepted my magic, he will accept yours as well, all you have to do is let him take his place as king. It is his destiny, Morgana, and I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing hinders that future. If you continue to stand in my way, I won't hesitate, no matter how much it pains me to hurt someone I once considered to be one of my closest friends. Please, think about what you are doing, before it's too late." Merlin finished, hoping Morgana would remember the good times they had spent together before she met Morgause and learned of her powers. Merlin thought, for a second, he saw the old Morgana staring back at him, but as quickly as he noticed it; it was gone, replaced with the hate-filled woman who only seemed to care about power and getting back at those who had wronged her.

"We will never be friends again, Merlin." She shouted back. "When will you understand that some things can never be forgiven?"

With that, the battle resumed, Morgana and Morgause firing spells at Merlin from both sides. Merlin was able to block most of them, and even send a few of his own back while they chanted. Eventually he was able to knock Morgause out; using another spell Kilgarrah had taught him. He had made a shield that not only blocked Morgause's blast, but sent it flying back towards her, not giving her any time to deflect. When it hit her she had been flung into the stairs behind her, and she appeared to be down, at least for the moment, allowing Merlin to focus all his efforts on Morgana, who had shrieked the moment her sister went down, and was now fighting with an increased ferocity.

Just after Morgause went down, the courtyards was once again flooded with soldiers, but his time they were wearing the blue and white of Nemeth instead of the black and red of Morgana's men. Merlin was thrilled to see that Arthur was leading the charge, and looked almost completely unscathed. Apparently, at some point, Arthur had met up with the rest of the knights and Gwen, who were all sweaty and dirty, but also looked mostly whole and unharmed. Percival was bleeding a little from a wound on his arm, and Merlin noticed that Lancelot was limping slightly, but those were the only noticeable injuries. Merlin met Arthur's eyes for a moment, and Arthur grinned at him, before Merlin had to turn his attention back to Morgana. Merlin couldn't help but feel a sense of victory. The only thing that was left was for him to finish off Morgana, and then Camelot would be Arthur's once more. He left his safe position at the wall, edging closer to Morgana as his powers slowly forced her backwards. Soon, he was standing in front of Arthur and his troops, while Morgana was pressed up against the wall below the window she had been leaning out of the first time Merlin ever saw her. Everything seemed to be going perfectly until Merlin felt a force hit him from behind, and he was sent sprawling to the ground in front of him.

Merlin's head whipped around to figure out what had pushed him, and his heart stopped.

Arthur was standing where he had been, one of the unconscious soldier's swords protruding from his chest, as Morgause's hand fell back to the ground.


	15. Chapter 14: When all Seems Lost

**AN: Hello! I didn't want to keep you guys waiting too long after that cliff hanger! Hehehe, I can be evil sometimes... So we have another chapter! Yay! I am still on schedule to finish before I leave! (just one more chapter and an epilogue!)**

**In other news, there is another Merlin fic called The Rise of Emrys being written right now (They stole my name! I totally came first! Although, there are probably lots of others that came before me...) Anyhoo, I was thinking about maybe renaming this story, just to feel slightly more original. Any of you have any ideas? Cause they would be greatly appreciated. I was thinking Three Kisses, as I kind of realized there are three really important kisses in this fic (the last of which is in this chapter). What do you guys think? Do titles really matter?**

**And thanks for reading! And reviewing/commenting/whatever it is called now. There are too many changes for me to keep up with.**

**Finally, I don't own Merlin. I think there would be lots of angry fans if I did.**

Chapter 14: When all Seems Lost

Merlin didn't want to believe his eyes.

This had to be some type of trick, some type of spell, because Arthur wasn't dying. Kilgarrah had told him his destiny wouldn't end tonight, so Arthur couldn't be dying. Arthur was his destiny! If Arthur died now, everything would be over.

Arthur fell to his knees, his hands clutched around the blade sticking out of his chest. Merlin couldn't feel the tears stream down his face as he watched the blood spread across Arthur's shirt and dribble down Arthur's chin. He could only watch as Arthur fell to his side, still facing Merlin, his hands falling limply to his sides. Merlin didn't even hear his own voice as he repeated the word "no" over and over again. He felt nothing but pain, heard nothing but the last, gurgling gasps of his love, saw nothing but the red liquid slowly trickling from the sword down to the destroyed courtyard.

It took Merlin a moment to regain control of his legs and move to where Arthur was lying. When he reached his king, Arthur's skin was cold, as his life slowly drained from him. Arthur was dying, and Merlin was powerless to stop it.

Merlin could feel his powers take control, as his rage and sorrow exploded out of him. He didn't register what he was doing as chunks of courtyard began to fly through the air. The clouds seemed to share his grief, as rain cascaded down from the sky. Merlin turned his face upwards and screamed, causing lightning to flash and strike around him. Merlin was so lost in his pain that he didn't notice the destruction he was causing. He knew nothing but complete hopelessness. He couldn't hear his friends calling to him, and he didn't sense anything when Kilgarrah tried to call him through their mental connection.

But, then, he felt something. Something comforting. Warm arms had grabbed him, pulling him into a tight hug. They weren't strong like Arthur's, but their support pulled Merlin back to reality. They gave him someone to lean on; someone to hold him, even if it wasn't the one he wanted it to be. Somehow, the hug reminded him of his mother, of comfort and home, care and love.

He knew it couldn't be his mother, though. She was safe in Ealdor, and he was in Camelot, next to Arthur, who was…

Merlin felt a sob tear from him as he was brought back to reality by the warm arms around him. When he had gained control of his eyes again, he saw that it was Gwen. Gwen was hugging him, her beautiful face awash with tears and rain. As Merlin looked around he realized the destruction he was causing and tried to get a hold of his powers as he collapsed into the hold of the woman who had been his first real friend in Camelot.

* * *

Everyone had been watching Merlin and Morgana fighting, so no one but Arthur noticed Morgause's hand rise weakly, and send the sword hurtling towards Merlin. Gwen was amazed Arthur had been able to act in time to save him, Morgause had looked completely unconscious, if not dead, so no one was paying attention to her. Not when, just across the courtyard, two of the most powerful magic users of their time where battling with all their powers. Gwen was transfixed, watching how strong her clumsy best friend was. He had concealed such great power for so long, Gwen could hardly believe her eyes.

And then there was Morgana.

Gwen had been serving her for years before she turned against Camelot. To see the girl who she had admired and trusted so completely fighting Merlin with such hatred and determination was transfixing. She couldn't tear her eyes from the two, so, of course, she hadn't seen Arthur moving until it was much too late.

Time seemed to slow down as the sword sent by Morgause reached Arthur and was driven into his chest, just above his stomach. Gwen felt frozen in place, as she watched, helpless, as her king took the blade that would have killed her best friend.

Everything was silent as Merlin turned around, to see what had caused him to fall. It was as if everything else had frozen around them, all the sounds of battle were gone as Merlin approached Arthur. Then Merlin reached Arthur, and all hell broke loose.

Gwen was certain she had never heard a sound as grief-filled as the scream Merlin sent to the heavens. She watched in horror as the broken pieces of granite that had once made up the courtyard floor flew through the air, crashing around the warlock and his dying king. Then the rain started falling, followed by lightning strikes hitting the already ruined courtyard. And in the center of all of this, Merlin stood, his eyes glowing gold as tears poured from them. The expression on his face was so terrible, and it was clear he had no idea what was going on around him, and Gwen knew what she had to do.

Gwen wasn't afraid as she walked through the destruction in the courtyard towards Merlin. Even if Merlin didn't know what he was doing, she was sure he wouldn't hurt her. She was right, as she made it safely to the grief-stricken warlock and pulled him into a hug. She hoped that he understood what she meant by hugging him. She hoped he realized that he wasn't alone and that she wasn't going to let him suffer. She tried to pull him back to earth with her arms, ground him with love before he was lost to sorrow.

* * *

"I've failed, Gwen." Merlin whispered. The pieces of courtyard had returned to the ground and lightning was no longer striking the ground around them, but the rain did not stopped. "I didn't protect him."

"Merlin, this isn't your fault." Gwen replied, still holding him in her arms. "He knew what he was doing. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

Merlin just let himself be held as he wept into Gwen's hair. He couldn't bring himself to look back at the bleeding form of his love. He wasn't sure if he could control himself if he did.

"_Young Warlock, do not lose hope. There may still be a way to save your king."_

Kilgarrah's words reverberated inside Merlin's head, causing him to pull away from Gwen and look upwards. It took him a moment before he could make out the shape of the Dragon descending from the heavens. He pulled Gwen close to him as Kilgarrah landed, protecting her from the wind his wings produced as he approached the ground. When he landed, Kilgarrah moved his giant snout over Arthur's body, and Merlin asked, his voice desperate, "Can you help him?"

"I will do everything I can, Merlin. But my magic can only do so much. I can heal his body, but I cannot promise he will return."

Merlin nodded, giving Gwen one last squeeze before moving over to where Arthur was.

"What can I do?" Merlin asked, the only thing keeping him calm was the tiny amount of hope Kilgarrah had offered.

"You need to remove the sword, then place your hands around the wound."

Merlin nodded, and pulled the sword out of Arthur's chest. He tried not to think about what he was doing, not to feel the way Arthur's body hung lifeless as the blade was removed from his body, not to hear the squelching noise the sword made as it was released from Arthur's flesh. Once it was out, Merlin turned Arthur onto his back, and pressed his hands around the wound, willing to close.

Kilgarrah knelt down, his head level with Merlin's as he let out a deep breath. Golden light twisted from the Dragon's mouth and nose, and curled around Arthur, making him glow for a moment. The blood that had coated the ground around them slowly retreated, pulling itself back into Arthur's body. The gaping red cavity that had been left by the sword pulled together, leaving only a small scar where there had been a mortal wound. Merlin traced the scar with his shaking, blood soaked hands, as Kilgarrah pulled away slowly, and the golden light faded from Arthur's form.

Merlin looked at his love's face, praying that something would happen. Arthur's eyes would open, and he would be smiling happily back up at him, laughing at him for worrying so much. But the blue eyes remained closed. Merlin pressed his head against Arthur's chest, wishing for a heartbeat, but there was nothing. Merlin barely registered the tears pouring down his face as he lifted his head, moving his face over Arthur's.

"You promised." Merlin whispered. It was impossible to tell what was rain and what was tears as both ran from Merlin's face onto Arthur's. "You promised that everything would be fine, and that we would grow old together. You can't leave me now."

Merlin traced Arthur's check bones with his shaking fingers, making Arthur's pale checks red with his own blood. He used his thumb to wipe away the trail of blood on Arthur's chin as best as he could with his bloody hands. Then he leaned over, kissing Arthur's cold lips. It was so strange that they were colder now than they had been when he was stone.

After a brief moment with his lips pressed against the unmoving form of his love, Merlin moved his head back to Arthur's chest, sobbing against the unmoving body. The only noise was the sound of the rain pouring down around him, so when he thought he heard Arthur's voice he was sure he was imagining it.

But then it happened again.

Merlin slowly lifted his head, looking back towards Arthur's face, and was met with the brilliant blue eyes he loved.

"Arthur!" Merlin called, still sobbing, but now with a smile on his face.

"I had… to keep… my promise." Arthur said, taking a deep breath between each pair of words.

"Never do that to me again." Merlin said, laughing slightly under his tears. Then he turned to the knights. Arthur might not have been in any immediate danger, but he still didn't look good, and it would be best if they could get him out of the pouring rain.

"Percival," Merlin called out, "could you help me get Arthur inside?"

Percival just nodded, all of the knights looked slightly dumbstruck as they observed Arthur's chest moving up and down after such a long period of stillness. Then Lancelot asked, "What happened to Morgana?"

Merlin stiffened. He had completely forgotten about Morgana when Arthur had been injured. All he could think of was fixing Arthur. When he turned to look back at the corner she had been standing in, he saw it was empty. Morgause's body was also gone from the steps she had collapsed on. It seemed that they had used Merlin's distraction to escape when the courtyard had been subject to Merlin's rage.

"I don't know, and right now I don't care." Merlin said, "For now, let's focus on getting out of this rain."

"I'll ride back and get Gaius." Leon said. It was clear he wanted to help, and, being a knight like Arthur, inaction was difficult for him so he wanted a heroic way to be helpful. Merlin smiled and nodded at the suggestion. He was not going to leave Arthur's side until he was better, so he was glad someone else was going back to fetch his mentor.

As Leon left, Percival moved to Merlin's side, bending down to pick up the young monarch. Arthur grunted softly as Percival pulled him from the ground, but otherwise made no sign of pain. Merlin went ahead of Percival into the castle, his senses on high alert, ready to blast anything that tried to get in his way. The rest of the knights and Gwen followed behind the large knight carrying Arthur, protecting Arthur from any foes who might try to strike from behind. They ran into very few people on their way to Arthur's chambers, and the people they did see where mostly the servants who had stayed on during Morgana's rule, but remained loyal to Arthur. They all cleared a path for the group, letting them go their way unhindered. Apparently, all of Morgana's forces had gone to the front lines to fight, and there they either were killed by the Dragon's fire or by their enemy's blades. It would have been a close fight, if it hadn't been for the Dragon swooping over the city, fighting for Arthur. Kilgarrah had done about as much damage as both armies put together, and all to Morgana's side.

When they reached the room that had been Arthur's, the door was locked. This didn't surprise Merlin, ever since Mordred had moved into Arthur's room the doors were almost always locked. For some reason, Mordred seemed to be extremely paranoid that someone would try to steal his things. This didn't prove much of an obstacle to Merlin though, he just waved his hand and the doors were opened. He held them open so Percival could fit through with Arthur, then moved over to the bed, and pulled back the blankets, letting Percival lay Arthur down on his own bed.

Once Arthur was comfortable, the group of friends moved around the bed, and Gwaine asked him, "How are you feeling, mate?"

"Alright…, just tired." Arthur said.

Merlin gave Arthur a shaky smile, brushing the wet hair from his face and said, "Do you remember when you rescued me from Morgana, and you didn't let me talk? Well, now it's my turn. You need rest. Sleep, Arthur, just promise me you'll wake up."

"I… promise." Arthur said, as he drifted off to sleep. The group just watched with amazement at each breath their king took, hardly believing it was possible. After watching the miracle of Arthur's continued existence together for a few minutes, Merlin turned to his friends and said quietly so as not to disturb Arthur, "Thank you all for everything. You must be tired as well, it has been a long night. You should all get some sleep, I will watch over him."

Lancelot frowned at Merlin slightly and replied, "Are you sure, Merlin? You look absolutely exhausted. One of us can watch him for a while so you can rest."

"No." Merlin said, determined to remain beside his love. "I'm fine. And I'm not going to leave him. Go, rest. I will see you in the morning."

The group gave in, knowing that it would be impossible to separate Merlin from Arthur now, and that Merlin would be the only one who would be able to do anything if something went wrong while Arthur slumbered. They all ambled out of the room, leaving Merlin alone with Arthur. Once they were all gone, Merlin went about his old duties. First, he pulled the prince out of his cold, wet clothes, replacing them with the warm, clean nightclothes Merlin had hidden away when Mordred ordered him to clean his rooms. Unbeknownst to the young Druid, Merlin had hidden most of Arthur's belongings instead of destroying them as he had been ordered to do, hoping that someday Arthur would return to use them again. Then he went and lit a fire in the hearth, making sure it would be warm in the chambers, so Arthur wouldn't get a cold after all that had happened. Then, Merlin carefully checked Arthur's body for any other injuries he might have sustained in battle. If there had been any other wounds, the Dragon's powers must have healed them as well, as Arthur was completely unharmed besides the scar on his chest. Finally Merlin moved the chair sitting by Arthur's table over to the side of Arthur's bed, sitting down next to the sleeping Arthur, stroking Arthur's brown and thanking the gods for his chance to continue on with his destiny.


	16. Chapter 15: Back in Their Proper Place

**AN: THE LAST CHAPTER!**

**Hi. I think I'm going to make it! Super excited! My friend Rosie and I are both trying to finish a work by tomorrow (she wants to finish at the end of June, I want to finish before I leave for the coast tomorrow at around 11:00) so we have been encouraging each other to work, and it is sort of working, although we also distract each other with Full Metal Alchemist watching from time to time. :)**

**But, now all I have left is the epilogue, so I will shed a few happy tears. I think I pretty much wrapped everything up in this chapter, but if something is missing, please let me know! (and quickly, cause I am going to start writing the epilogue as soon as I get back from swimming and watching Dark Shadows with my parents). I will try to get anything that is left open into the epilogue.**

**So, one more thing. I am leaving this story kind of open (unlike The Heart of the Prince, which seemed completely done after the sequel), so I could possibly write a sequel. I don't know what it would be about, so, if you want it to happen, let me know! And if you have any ideas, they would be greatly appreciated!**

**Thanks as always to all my fabulous readers and reviewers! I have had so much fun writing this because of you! I hope you don't mind all the cheese that happens in this chapter. I am a rather big fan of writing cheese, so it seems to happen a lot.**

**And, I still don't own Merlin. The only person who ever could is Arthur :)**

Chapter 15: Back in Their Proper Place

Arthur awoke to a beautiful sight. Merlin was sleeping in a chair next to him. His arms were folded underneath his head, resting on the corner of Arthur's bed. His black hair stuck out in strange little tufts from where it had formed against his arms. Arthur guessed Merlin had planned on staying up, watching over him while he slept, but, being exhausted from the battle, he must have fallen asleep. Arthur just lay back on his pillows, enjoying the comfort of his bed and watching Merlin sleep as the sunlight began to stream in through the windows.

Eventually, Arthur realized he was pretty hungry, and he figured that when Merlin woke up he would probably be starving as well, so would appreciate some food. Merlin had saved his life again, he could at least repay him by making sure there was a lovely large breakfast waiting for him when he woke up. Arthur slowly moved to sit up, but fell back with a groan when he tried to move. Apparently, even though the wound seemed to be healed, his body was still aching from the injury that had almost ended his life. He could still remember the pain, the cold, the darkness that had enveloped him for a moment that to him had felt like an eternity, but also no time at all.

Apparently his movements had disturbed Merlin, who had shot up, and was staring at him with an expression of panic.

"Arthur! Are you alright? Are you in pain? What's the matter?" Merlin cried, his hands moving over Arthur's body, resting momentarily on his forehead before moving down to check the scar on his stomach.

"I'm fine, Merlin. Just a little sore. Which, considering I got run through last night, I think is pretty good." Arthur replied, smiling at Merlin.

"Leon brought Gaius back last night, do you want me to go get him? He could probably make you something to help with the pain." Merlin replied. He was watching Arthur with a look that made Arthur think Merlin was worried he was going to disappear if he turned away for a second.

"No, Merlin. I want you to stay here. Maybe ask a servant if they could get us some breakfast. And stop worrying about me, I'm not going anywhere." Arthur said, grabbing Merlin's arm when he moved to stand up.

"Alright, you prat. Just promise me you'll never EVER do anything that stupid again. After your whole lecture to me, it was you who ended up putting yourself in danger. Now, I'm going to need my arm if I'm going to get us some food." Merlin said, as Arthur rejoiced in the fact that Merlin looked at least slightly less worried that Arthur might vanish if he wasn't watching him. Arthur released his arm, and Merlin moved over to the door, and leaned out, looking around for a servant. Merlin wasn't exactly sure whether anyone would be around, as they had just switched rulers overnight. But, he remembered that most of the servants under Morgana had been from Uther's time, and had helped him so they probably wouldn't abandon the castle when Arthur regained power.

Apparently at least some of them had stayed, as a pretty, brunette girl turned the corner. Merlin recognized her as one of the kitchen staff, Emily. They had worked together quite a few times when Merlin was serving Morgana, and she had been incredibly kind to him, even giving him one of her handkerchiefs to use as a makeshift bandage for one of the larger wounds Morgause had inflicted without allowing any treatment.

"Merlin!" Emily cried, rushing down the hallway, "Are you alright? Is Prince Arthur alright?"

"We're both fine, Emily, although we could do with some breakfast if anyone is still working in the kitchens. Are you and the other kitchen girls alright? None of you got hurt in the fighting, did you?"

"No, we stayed in the castle. As the battle mostly took place out in the city, we were safe in here. Mary's still a little shaken, but she always frightens easily. I think I should be able to scrounge you up some breakfast, considering the entire kitchen staff is down there cooking up a storm to welcome Arthur back."

Merlin smiled at that. "I'm glad to hear you're all fine. You all helped me so much, if there is ever anything I can do for you, you need only ask."

"You can repay us by keeping those knight friends of yours out of our kitchens!" Emily said with a smile. "They're always in there, sticking their dirty fingers into all our food!"

Merlin laughed. That sounded like Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival. Leon and Lancelot would never behave so improperly, but the knights were always hungry, and Gwaine was always planning some mischief, trying to get as many conspirators as possible. He was about to respond when Merlin heard Arthur calling his name out from the bed.

"Sounds like his royal highness needs me, but seriously, thank you so much for everything, Emily. Do you think you could run down to Gaius' chambers and tell him Arthur is awake as well?"

"Of course!" Emily said with a smile, before turning back to head down to the kitchens. Merlin turned back to Arthur, shutting the door behind him.

"What do you need now, Sire?" Merlin asked, with a slightly exasperated tone. Really he was overjoyed that Arthur was acting so much like his old self already after what had happened last night, but he had decided that acting like his old self would probably be the best way to keep Arthur in his high spirits. So, he continued to be sarcastic and mocking even though inside he was jumping up and down with happiness that Arthur was alright.

"I need you to get back over here and stop flirting with random servants!" Arthur ordered, a playful smile on his face.

"Are you jealous, Sire?" Merlin said, smiling back at Arthur as he walked back over to the bed.

"No." Arthur responded, a sly smile on his face, "Because I know you could never love anyone but me."

Merlin grinned back, saying, "Well, that's true. Maybe you aren't quite as stupid as you look."

"You know _Mer-_lin, I'm sure Gwaine has lots of dirty socks that need washing. If you insult me again, I'll make sure they all go to you." Arthur said, trying to look as threatening as possible with a huge grin on his face. "Now get back over here and let me kiss you, or I'll think of some other terrible chore I can give you."

Merlin laughed as he bent down to kiss Arthur with as much intensity as he could while Arthur was still lying in bed.

Their lips were still locked together when Gaius entered, coughing awkwardly to announce his presence. Merlin jumped back, looking slightly embarrassed, while Arthur just looked slightly disappointed.

"I thought I told you not to fetch Gaius. The others need his help more than I do." Arthur said to Merlin, sounding a little annoyed.

"I didn't." Merlin responded, with a cheeky expression. "I asked Emily, one of the serving girls to fetch him. And Gaius needs to examine you Arthur, you had a sword lodged in your stomach! I think that deserves a little medical attention."

"Well, it's gone now, so you can leave, Gaius. I do not require your services." Arthur said, sounding very much like a spoilt five year old.

"I'm sorry Sire," Gaius said, making no move to leave, "but I do believe it is my duty as royal physician to make sure you are fine. And, judging by the fact that you are still in bed, I'm guessing that you are not, even if you are no longer in mortal peril."

Arthur decided to just glare at Merlin and accept Gaius' examination. Merlin watched as Arthur twitched slightly while Gaius poked and prodded him. After a tense few minutes, Gaius stopped, and said, "The wound is completely healed. All the organs that could have been damaged by the sword seem to be functioning properly, but you still lost quite a bit of blood. It seems the Dragon was able to return the blood was still around you, but not the blood that had been washed away in the rain or scattered by other forces. You will need to rest for a few days, but you should be fine, as long as you don't lose anymore in the next couple days."

Arthur nodded, and said "Thank you, Gaius." Then, turning to Merlin, "I told you I was fine, you need to stop worrying."

Merlin just smiled at Arthur, deciding not to dignify that comment with a response.

Merlin was about to return to Arthur's side and resume what they had been doing before Gaius interrupted them, until he noticed that Gaius wasn't leaving.

"I'm going to need to check you over as well, Merlin." Gaius said, moving to where Merlin was standing.

"But I wasn't even injured!" Merlin protested, but let Gaius' wrinkled hands pinch and jab his body, while Arthur chuckled quietly.

"Just a precaution." Gaius said, but he finished Merlin's examination in about half the time he had spent with Arthur.

"Well, you're both fine. Leon told me what happened last night, and it sounds like both of you were incredibly brave. Arthur, I have watched you grow up your entire life, and you have become a wonderful man. Your father would have been proud. You would do anything for your people, and you have an incredibly strong heart. Merlin, ever since you came to live with me, you have showed me just how much good one person can do. I have tried to be a father to you, and know that you will always be a son to me, and I am so proud of you. You are still young, but you are more powerful and kind than most men could ever dream of being. I feel so lucky to have been part of both your lives. Now, rest, both of you, and prepare. There is a kingdom waiting for your guidance."

Arthur and Merlin could only nod at Gaius' speech. Merlin had wanted to respond, to tell the physician how he could never have made it this far without him, but Gaius was gone before he could fit the right words together, leaving him and Arthur alone in Arthur's room to ponder Gaius' words.

* * *

Merlin and Arthur spent most of the next couple of days in Arthur's chambers. Arthur's strength returned slowly, with a lot of help from a very patient Merlin. The knights would often come to visit them, either to celebrate or discuss the plans for Arthur's ascension to the throne. The kitchen staff were working overtime, all overjoyed that they had their proper king back. Each meal was brought to the young couple by a different servant, each of whom wanted to check up on Merlin. And, to Arthur's amazement, Merlin knew not only all of their names, but also all about each of them, as he made personal inquiries to each one before they left.

When Merlin and Arthur were alone, they discussed their plans for their new kingdom. Even though Merlin argued against it for a while, wanting to remain Arthur's servant for reasons Arthur could not comprehend, Arthur was determined to give him the position of court sorcerer. They spent a lot of time determining a new set of laws for magic related crimes. Arthur wasn't going to reinstate the ban on magic, but they both realized the potential magic held for evil, or, if not evil, at least petty crimes that would be simple with the help of magic. While they worked Arthur would catch Merlin staring at him as if he couldn't believe he was there, as if he expected him to drop dead any second. That gaze always made him slightly nervous, so he was glad to see that as time went by, he felt it less and less often. Everything was falling back into its proper place, but it would take some time for the young warlock to recognize that, and Arthur understood why. So much had happened to him, so many terrible things, in this very castle. Sometimes Arthur was amazed that Merlin didn't run from the castle, as each part of it seemed to hold its own bad memories for him. Arthur was determined to replace those memories with better ones, and had decided that as soon as he was strong enough to walk around the castle, he would kiss Merlin in every corner of it, until there was no where he could go without remembering the soft embrace of his love instead of the cruelties of his captors.

The one subject that Arthur wished he could have ignored forever was brought up when all the knights, Gaius, and Guinevere poured into his room in the mid-afternoon of the first day he spent in his chambers. They had spent a little while rejoicing in the fact that they all were safe, and had regained the kingdom. The mood darkened when Percival asked the question they had all been avoiding.

"What should we do about Morgana and Morgause?"

The room went silent. Guinevere, Gaius, Leon, Arthur, and Merlin, who had all been friends with Morgana before she joined Morgause, looked hesitant. It was clear none of them wanted to see her hunted down like an animal, even after all she had done. After the uncomfortable silence, Arthur spoke up, saying, "They vanished, right? Why don't we let them stay vanished for now. Until we fix the more pressing matters, I don't want to have to deal with searching for sorceresses. We spent a year looking for Morgana with no luck, I'm guessing they will be able to hide from us for as long as they want to. We will just have to be careful. I don't think they will have given up on getting what they believe belongs to them."

"I will tell the patrols to be on a look out for them, but to keep their distance and alert us if they are found." Leon said.

"I think Morgause was pretty injured, even if she was able to cast that spell. Morgana will have taken her sister somewhere safe, to try to heal her. It should be a while before either of them are back." Merlin replied, his voice emotionless. The mood in Arthur's room was still very dark, until Gwaine decided to end the silence with a shout that he was headed down to the tavern, pulling Percival and Leon out with him. Elyan followed s Percival grabbed him forcing him along with the tavern-bound group. Lancelot and Guinevere smiled at Arthur and Merlin before taking their leave as well, saying they wanted to see what state Gwen's house was in. Gaius checked Arthur over once more, telling him to eat and continue to rest, before he left as well, returning to the patients who had been injured in the battle. When they were all gone, Arthur turned to Merlin and asked, "Are you ok? Talking about Morgana can't be easy for you."

"Thank you, Arthur, but I am fine." Merlin replied, helping Arthur back to his bed. "I mostly try not to think about what happened in those five months, but I can't ignore it completely. And someday, they will come back, and try to destroy us again. But I won't let it happen. They won't set foot in this kingdom as long as I have anything to say about it."

Arthur smiled at his love, and added, "Maybe we should move Hunith to Camelot, just in case. I'm sure we could find an empty room in this giant castle, and we could think up some title for her. I think raising you deserves some type of reward."

Merlin chuckled, and said, "I think she would like that, thank you Arthur. For everything. You are becoming the king I always knew you would be."

"Of course I am." Arthur said, with his most regal voice. "Now get over here. I do believe that one of the official duties of the new court sorcerer is to share the king's bed."

Merlin smiled, and climbed under the silky blankets, and curled up next to Arthur. Arthur held Merlin, and hoped he understood that he was never going to let go.

* * *

On the third day, Arthur decided he was well enough to leave his chambers. He was accompanied by Merlin, Gaius, and Leon, all wanting to make sure Arthur didn't over exert himself on his walk. Arthur wanted to see what state his kingdom was in, and he wasn't going to be able to tell that from his bed chambers. The courtyard was still a mess. The knights had cleared a pathway through it so people could still pass through, but Arthur wasn't exactly sure what to do about the huge chunks of granite that were scattered about the once beautiful courtyard. Merlin gave a sheepish grin, apologized, and promised he would sort it out as soon as he figured out how.

When they had reached the throne room, Merlin had stiffened quite visibly. Arthur was pretty sure the cause of this was the large, golden cage still hanging behind the throne. Arthur was about to order it removed when Merlin raised his hands, a cruel smile twisted across his face. The bars glowed white for a second, before the cage contorted, melted and formed a new shape. When Merlin was done, the metal that had been a cage was now a gorgeous golden dragon, matching the Pendragon crest perfectly. Merlin smiled at his work, while the rest of them watched him with amazement. Arthur wondered if he would ever get used to Merlin's overwhelming powers, but, for now, he would have to get used to his jaw dropping every time Merlin raised his hands.

There was a huge, celebratory feast that night, in recognition of Arthur's first day out of his chambers. King Eric had attended, if only to tell Arthur that he and his men would be leaving in the morning. Arthur thanked the other king profusely, and promised him that Camelot would always be his ally, if there ever was need.

Arthur was crowned king the next day. Geoffrey had remained, and looked happier than Arthur had ever seen him as he placed the crown on Arthur's head. After he stood in front of his new people, Arthur announced many of the changes him and Merlin had planned with their two days in his room. The first was officially giving Merlin his new position. Arthur couldn't help but grin as Merlin blushed under the scrutiny of the crowd. He let Merlin handle explaining their new laws on magic, seeing as he had determined most of them. Once that was over, Arthur reinstated his decree that anyone who swore their loyalty to the kingdom could train to be a knight and instated some of the laws he and Merlin had made when Merlin argued that peasants should be better protected by the law. Arthur was pretty sure this was spurred on by all the times Merlin had wanted to act against a knight or member of the court, but hadn't been able to seeing as he was a servant and the king would never believe his word over those of the nobility.

After they had finished the business in the morning, Arthur used the afternoon to hold a formal funeral for his father and all others who had died by Morgana's hand. It had been a somber affair, but the celebration that had followed was absolutely wonderful. Having decided they wanted to have the entire town there, and seeing as the courtyard was in no fit state for use, they had led the people out to a small clearing in the woods. The nights had strung lanterns from the trees, and the kitchen girls had prepared a delicious feast that was spread out on blankets at the edge of the forest. There had been dancing, music, and magic, as Merlin filled the air with beautiful lights and made coins and candies appear for the younger children running around the space. Arthur had stopped him, pulling him onto the dance floor after Merlin had sent a shower of gold and red sparks shooting up into the sky that had formed into a huge dragon over the trees swooping around over the heads of the party goers. Arthur discovered, that even though he was one of the clumsiest people he had ever met, Merlin was a wonderful dancer. He seemed to know all the moves to every country dance, looking more uncertain when the players started on of the more formal songs. Arthur guided him through the dances he didn't know, watching with joy as Merlin jumped, twirled, clapped, and skipped alongside him.

When Arthur started to feel slightly weak, Merlin pulled him from the dancers, a slightly concerned look on his face.

"Are you feeling alright? You look tired. You haven't overexerted yourself, have you?" Merlin asked, looking quite worried.

"I'm fine, Merlin." Arthur said, "But I think I have had enough dancing for tonight. What do you say we find somewhere slightly more private?"

Merlin smiled and nodded, letting Arthur pull him out of the clearing, past some children sleeping, curled up on one of the blankets, and only narrowly avoiding Guinevere and Lancelot who seemed to have had the same idea as them, and where currently kissing just far enough away from the celebrations that they could still hear the music but they would not be seen. Arthur kept on pulling Merlin though, until they reached the edge of a beautiful lake. The clear skies were reflected in its still surface. Arthur just watched as Merlin gazed out of the serene waters, a tear sliding across one of his high cheekbones. Arthur reached up with the hand that was not currently entwined with Merlin's to brush the tear away and asked, "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing." Merlin replied, "Just… everything is so perfect. We did it Arthur. Everything is going to go back to how it was meant to be."

"I told you everything was going to be fine." Arthur said with a cheeky grin. Merlin turned towards him, laughing before Arthur felt a tug on his hand and Merlin pulled him down to the ground at the edge of the lake. Merlin didn't give him time to complain about how dirty his trousers would get before he was silenced by a kiss.

And, he had to agree with Merlin.

Everything was perfect.


	17. Epilogue

Epilogue

Oswald was a deep sleeper. He had always been, it had been sort of required of him when his three little sisters were born and he had to keep working, which meant he also needed to sleep, even when they cried for his mother's attention. She had to stay at home with them all day, and seeing as his father had left when he was young, that left him in charge of making sure they got enough money.

So, when Arthur, disguised as a guard, snuck in to the chambers just outside his, woke his employer, and ran he didn't wake. He continued sleeping soundly until the warning bell rang, and he heard heavy footsteps run past the door. Not too long after the bell stopped ringing, Queen Morgana herself had barged into Gaius' chambers, looking more angry than Oswald had thought possible and cursing Emrys, Gaius, and lots of other people Oswald had never heard of. She then ordered two of the guards accompanying her to escort Oswald to the dungeons.

Oswald had been terrified. He was sure he was going to die. He had spent a long, cold, night trying not to think of what would happen to his mother and sisters without the money he sent them. There was a small, slit-like window in the cell Oswald had been tossed into, so he was able to tell how much time went by. It wasn't until the sunlight was starting to fade from his window that the door to his cell was flung open, and he was once again in the presence of the furious queen. She had questioned him about Gaius' disappearance, threatened him for a bit, but as he stuttered out all the pleading apologies and excuses he could, she seemed to realize that he really did have nothing to do with Gaius' escape. Oswald couldn't help but think that was obvious, as he was still in Camelot and would have been long gone if he had had anything to do with the escape, but, he didn't bring this up to the queen, not wanting to anger her further.

He remained in the cell for a couple more days, before the rulers of Camelot realized that they currently had no physician, and that the only person who could possibly be able to handle those duties in the castle was currently locked in the dungeons, so he was released. Although he was still a pretty shaky physician, and knew that he would be replaced as soon as Queen Morgana could find a suitable replacement, he had learned a lot from Gaius, especially when helping him treat practically every type of injury imaginable for the dark-haired man Gaius had seemed to care for so much. As Oswald never saw Emrys/Merlin again, he hoped that the boy had escaped with Gaius. He had seemed like a nice person, and definitely didn't deserve the harsh treatment the queen and her court subjected him to.

Oswald had been terrified when a war broke out in the streets of Camelot.

It was said that Arthur Pendragon was leading the charge, which Oswald had not really believed, as he was pretty sure that he had been killed when Queen Morgana had taken over Camelot. All Oswald knew was that he wanted to be as far from the fighting as possible. He still had a family to take care of, and risking his life would mean risking all of theirs as well. So, he hid in the small chambers in the back that he still lived in, even if the bed in the main room was slightly larger and, with its proximity to the fire, much warmer. He brought a small knife with him, and huddled in the corner, listening to the sounds of fighting from the small window. It sounded awful. There were lights flashing into his room from fires, and he was pretty sure he had heard the growling of some large beast as well as the flapping of wings at some point. Things had quieted for a moment, only to resume again when an agonizing screech sounded from the direction of the courtyard, and rain began to pound against the window. Soon, the only sound left was rain, and Oswald relaxed slightly, while the rhythm of the rain slowly lulled him into a light sleep.

He was awoken by someone stomping around in the chambers just outside his. Soon, he realized that it was not just someone, but a pair of someone's, one of whom sounded a lot like Gaius. After for listening for a couple minutes longer, Oswald decided to risk it, and slowly moved towards the door, opened it quietly and peered into the larger room.

Immediately he regretted his boldness, as the someone who did not sound like Gaius pulled him from the back room, pushed him up against the wall, and pressed his sword against his neck. Oswald was pretty sure he had never been this scared in his life. The someone who had a hold of him had a slightly scruffy beard, curly hair, and was quite a lot bigger than him, which definitely wasn't helping the whole fear thing. He tried to think of something to say that would get the blade lowered when he heard the other someone speak up.

"Put him down, Leon. He won't hurt us, will you Oswald?"

He had been right! The other someone was definitely Gaius! Did that mean Queen Morgana had lost the battle? Deciding it was probably best if he focused on the situation at hand before he worried about politics, Oswald said, "N-n-n-no G-g-g-gaius." He had wanted to say more, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to talk normally again until the sword had been removed from his neck.

"You know this boy, Gaius? He is wearing Morgana's colors. Are you sure he can be trusted?" The man holding him, Leon apparently, said to Gaius, his eyes never leaving Oswald.

"Yes, Leon. This is Oswald, my assistant. He helped me when Morgana had you imprisoned. I don't believe he would do anything to hurt us." Gaius said, moving over to Leon's side. Leon still looked suspicious, but he lowered his sword, although he did not sheath it. Oswald could kiss Gaius, he was so happy there was no longer a blade pressed against his throat. When Leon released him, Oswald collapsed his legs still shaking with fear and unable to hold his weight. He slid to the ground, receiving a slightly sympathetic look from Leon, while Gaius asked, "Are you alright?"

"Y-ye-yes." Oswald stuttered, "W-what are y-y-you d-do-doing here G-gaius?"

"I wanted to come home, now that Camelot has its proper ruler." Gaius said with a smile.

"S-so Q-q-queen Mor-morgana is d-d-dead? Who is the n-n-new r-r-ruler?" Oswald asked, a new fear spreading through him. Not that he had liked Morgana, she had terrified him, but she had also legalized magic. What if whoever was in charge now changed that law and he was executed for his gift?

"No. She ran." Leon said with a harsh tone, his eyes growing angry again. "Arthur Pendragon will be crowned king as soon as he has recovered from battle."

"A-arthur P-p-p-pendragon?" Oswald asked, his voice barely more than a squeak at this point. Leon just looked confused as Oswald felt his stomach drop out. If a Pendragon was on the throne again he would be in danger. Gaius seemed to understand his fear, and knelt down next to him, saying, "Oswald, you need not fear. He will not hurt you, even though you possess magic. If you wish to remain in my service, I will still need an assistant when I resume my duties as court physician. Your duties would be the same, but you may leave as well if you wish to."

"Are you c-c-certain He w-w-won't kill m-m-me?"

"Yes." Gaius replied. "Why don't you wait, see the coronation, and decide for yourself then. I promise you will not be harmed or kept from leaving for any reason, if that is your choice."

Oswald nodded. He had grown fond of the older man before he had run away, and the job gave him a good amount of money to send to his family, so he would be happy to stay if he could.

"Good." Gaius said. "Now, Leon, you should go get some rest. I will be fine, I just need a little time to find all the supplies I will need to treat the injured tomorrow."

Leon nodded, and turned to leave, after giving Oswald one last suspicious look. Gaius helped Oswald back up, then took him back to the smaller room, telling him to get some sleep as they would have a big day tomorrow.

Oswald had done what Gaius said, and waited till the coronation to make his decision. It was three days after the battle, and Oswald had to admit, it did definitely change his opinion of Arthur Pendragon. He had been overjoyed to hear that the laws against magic would not be reinstated, and his jaw dropped as Merlin/Emrys was appointed court sorcerer. The dark-haired man looked so much happier and healthier than Oswald had ever seen him. Oswald could hardly focus on what Merlin was saying as he listed off the new laws pertaining to magic users specifically, as he was still so amazed that the man who had been so abused by the last regime was to be such an important figure in this one.

Oswald had attended the party that night, and had marveled at the powers Merlin possessed. He had also been quite surprised to see him dancing and laughing with the king. That was the last Oswald saw of Merlin, until a couple days later he walked into his room to find the new court sorcerer sitting on his bed.

"Did you n-n-need something, My Lord?" Oswald asked, trying to keep from stuttering.

"Oh! Oswald!" Merlin said jumping up from the bed. "No, and please call me Merlin. I know Arthur wants everyone to call me 'Lord' or whatever, but I hate it. Merlin is best. And I'm sorry about sneaking into your room. I was looking for Gaius and I got a bit nostalgic."

"What do you mean?" Oswald asked. Merlin's checks had turned red upon discovery, which made Oswald a lot less nervous then he had been when he discovered a member of the court in his room.

"This used to be my room, before Morgana took over. I'm glad to see you stayed in Camelot. Gaius really does need the help, and now that Arthur has all these new duties for me I really don't have time to fetch herbs or deliver potions."

Oswald was about to respond when he heard another person enter the physician's quarters.

"Merlin, are you in here!" The new arrival said, with a voice that sounded suspiciously like the King. "I was going to check the tavern, but I met Gwaine on the way, and he told me he knew for certain you weren't there."

Merlin laughed, as he moved to the door, and said, "I'm in here, Arthur."

Arthur! So it was the king! Oswald frantically looked for a way to escape, but, of course, the only door lead out to the room King Arthur was currently standing in.

"Why did you come back to that tiny room? You know we have a much nicer room with a very big bed that is somehow still quite messy even though I hired a new servant yesterday." By the time he was finished talking King Arthur was standing in the doorway to Oswald's room. Oswald was slightly horror-struck. He was incredibly glad he had decided to clean up this morning, so at least his clothes and belongings weren't strewn around everywhere.

"Just for the memories, I guess. Thought it would be nice to come back. Oh! And Arthur, I have someone for you to meet!" Merlin said, causing Oswald to hyperventilate. He had hoped the king might leave without noticing him, but now there was no chance. "This is Oswald, Gaius' assistant. He helped Gaius take care of me when Morgana allowed it. Oswald, this is Arthur. He can be a prat, but deep down he's a good person."

King Arthur just rolled his eyes at the last part as he approached Oswald to shake his hand. He looked slightly confused when Oswald's hand didn't meet his own, as Oswald was currently frozen with fear as the king watched him. When it became clear Oswald was not going to accept his handshake, Arthur moved his hand up to his head, running his fingers through his hair as he said, "It is nice to meet you, Oswald. Merlin told me a about you. I owe you my thanks for taking care of this idiot when I couldn't. If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know, and I will do my best."

Oswald finally regained control of his body as he bowed shakily to the king and said, "T-t-t-thank you, s-s-s-sire."

King Arthur just gave him one more slightly confused glance before he turned back to Merlin and said, "Come on Merlin, we can't reminisce now, I have a meeting with the farmers who provide food for Camelot and you have to come as well."

Merlin smiled and waved at Oswald as he was pulled out of the room. "I'll see you around, Oswald!" The court sorcerer called, just as him and the king reached the door back to the hallway. When they were both gone, Oswald collapsed on his bed, slightly dumbfounded by what had just happened.

As time went on, Oswald saw more and more of Merlin and Arthur, and started to grow quite fond of the pair. It was clear they both cared a lot about Camelot and each other (even if they often had strange ways of showing the second). Oswald watched, as Camelot grew and morphed to the city of legend he had heard of under their guidance. It had taken a while for the wreckage of the battle to be cleared up, but when it was the city looked cleaner than it ever had. Arthur had lowered taxes as much as he possibly could, and sold some of the less-valuable treasures locked in the vaults of Camelot in order to help the citizens regain their homes and livelihood. Merlin worked with farmers to perform spells that would help make their soil fertile, healers who couldn't find a particular cure, or whoever else needed him. Every once and a while, a shadow would spread across Merlin's face, as if he was caught up in some terrible memory, but each time it did, King Arthur would be there, and he would embrace his friend until it started happening less and less.

Oswald was quite glad Gaius had convinced him to stay, and was planning on moving the rest of his family here as soon as he had enough money. Camelot was certainly headed for a golden age.

**AN: Look! AN at the bottom! Do you know what that means? I finished in time! YAY!**

**Anyhoo, couple things I need to say before I pack for the coast.**

**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! But, also I want to send a special thank you out to cristina ried and readernurse who are absolutely fabulous reviewers. It was super fun getting reviews from both of you, especially as we all were writing Merlin stories and could share our guilt about hurting Merlin so much, or disappointment when we received bad reviews. Seriously, though, if you are reading this and you haven't been to their profiles or read their stories, you should. They are very good writers and deserve a lot of reviews!**

**Also, I need to thank my friends Rosie and Helen again for helping me with my writing. They are fabulous. And they have much better grammar then I do. (if that sentence was anything to go by).**

**Umm... another story done! If you are interested in what I will be working on next, their is a list up on my profile. I think I have decided that (if I write it) the evil queen in Mirror, Mirror would be Alined (I'm sorry cristina ried! I wanted Cenred to fit but I just didn't like having him lust after Arthur. For some reason I can handle it with Merlin, but not Arthur, and that was kind of a big part of that character. Sorry!). **

**I think that is it for this story! I hope that you liked it! And if you did, I would LOVE to hear from you! or if you didn't and have some advice for me that could possibly make this story better...**

**Thanks, and have wonderful lives! Until I next time, when I return with my new story, THE KING OF HEARTS!**


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